Summary
Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 - Division A: Department of Defense Authorizations - Title I: Procurement - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - (Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for 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 2005 for defense-wide procurement.
Subtitle B: Army Programs - (Sec. 111) Authorizes the Secretaries of the Army and Navy, beginning with the FY 2005 program year, to jointly enter into a multiyear contract for procurement of the lightweight 155-millimeter howitzer.
(Sec. 112) Prohibits the obligation or expenditure of funds for the procurement of light utility helicopters until 30 days after the Secretary of the Army submits to the congressional defense and appropriations committees: (1) a certification that all required documentation for the acquisition of such helicopters has been completed and approved; and (2) an updated modernization plan for Army aviation, containing specified elements.
Subtitle C: Navy Programs - (Sec. 121) Directs the Secretary of the Navy to: (1) accelerate the program for in-service modernization of the DDG-51 class of destroyers; and (2) report to the congressional defense and appropriations committees on steps taken under the program.
(Sec. 122) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2004 to repeal the authority for a pilot program for flexible funding of naval cruiser conversions and overhauls.
(Sec. 123) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to procure the first amphibious assault ship of the LHA(R) class, subject to the availability of appropriations.
Subtitle D: Air Force Programs - (Sec. 131) Prohibits, during FY 2005, the retirement of: (1) any KC-135E aircraft; or (2) any F-117 aircraft in use by the Air Force during FY 2004.
(Sec. 133) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004 to: (1) prohibit the leasing of tanker aircraft under a prior multiyear aircraft lease pilot program; (2) authorize a multiyear procurement of up to 100 aerial refueling aircraft, for up to ten program years; (3) prohibit the use of incremental funding for the multiyear contract; and (4) remove, throughout the program, references to the leasing of aircraft.
Subtitle E: Other Matters - (Sec. 141) Requires the Secretary of Defense (Secretary) to revise Department of Defense (DOD) regulations, directives, and guidance to account for survivability and suitability against asymmetric threats in developing any manned system and any equipment intended to enhance personnel survivability.
(Sec. 142) Requires the Secretary to ensure that the allocation of equipment acquired using funds authorized under this title to operational units involved in Operations Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom be made without regard to the status of the units as active, Guard, or reserve components.
(Sec. 143) Directs the Secretary to report to the defense and appropriations committees on options for the acquisition of precision-guided munitions.
Title II: Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - (Sec. 201) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for the Armed Forces for research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E). Earmarks specified amounts for the Defense Science and Technology Program.
(Sec. 203) Increases, by specified amounts, funds provided for RDT&E for: (1) the Navy for nano-composite hard-coat for aircraft canopies; and (2) the Air Force for command-and-control service level management.
Subtitle B: Program Requirements, Restrictions, and Limitations - (Sec. 211) Directs the Secretary of the Army to establish and implement a program strategy for the Army's Future Combat Systems acquisition program. Outlines program strategy elements. Requires the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, before convening the Milestone B update for such program, to submit to Congress an independent program cost estimate, together with related reports concerning such program. Limits program funding until the Secretary of the Army certifies to Congress that such program strategy has been established and implemented.
(Sec. 212) Directs the Secretary to establish a program for research and development in advanced vacuum electronics to meet the requirements of DOD systems. Requires a report from the Director of Defense Research and Engineering to the defense and appropriations committees on program implementation.
(Sec. 213) Directs the Comptroller General (CG) to: (1) conduct an annual review of the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft program; (2) report annually to the defense and appropriations committees on the most recent review; and (3) with each such report, certify whether the CG has had access to sufficient information to make informed judgments on matters covered by the report. Terminates report requirements after March 15, 2009.
(Sec. 214) Requires that amounts for RDT&E for the U.S. Joint Forces Command be derived only from amounts made available to DOD for defense-wide RDT&E. Requires any such amount to be set forth separately in annual budget requests.
(Sec. 215) Limits the obligation or expenditure of funds available to DOD for the Global Positioning System (GPS) III satellite until the Secretary: (1) completes an analysis of alternatives for architectures, technologies, and procedures for the next generation GPS; and (2) reports to the defense and appropriations committees on the results of such analysis.
(Sec. 216) Amends the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (Spence Act) to extend until March 1, 2005, the due date for the initiation of a concept demonstration of the Global Hawk high altitude endurance unmanned aerial vehicle.
(Sec. 217) Directs the Secretary to establish an executive committee and require such committee to provide guidance and recommendations for the management of the Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems program to the Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Agency personnel managing the program.
Subtitle C: Missile Defense Programs - (Sec. 231) Authorizes funds appropriated for FY 2005 or 2006 for RDT&E for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to be used for the development and fielding of ballistic missile defense capabilities.
(Sec. 232) Includes as an element of the Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) System the Army's Patriot Advanced Capability-3/Medium Extended Air Defense System air and missile defense program. Requires the MDA Director to ensure that any configuration changes for the PAC-3/MEADS program is subject to the configuration control board processes of the MDA. Allows the Secretary of the Army to make significant changes to the baseline technical specifications and schedule for the PAC-3/MEADS program only with the concurrence of the MDA Director. Requires the Secretary of Defense to: (1) develop procedures to determine the effects of changes made by the Secretary of the Army with respect to the PAC-3/MEADS program; and (2) report to the defense and appropriations committees on the procedures developed.
(Sec. 233) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2002 to direct the CG to: (1) conduct an assessment, at the conclusion of each of 2002 through 2006, of the extent to which each BMD program meets cost, scheduling, testing, and performance goals; and (2) report each assessment's results to the defense and appropriations committees.
(Sec. 234) Requires the: (1) Secretary to prescribe criteria for operationally realistic testing of fieldable prototypes developed under the BMD spiral development program; (2) Director of Operational Test and Evaluation to evaluate the results of each test conducted, and report evaluation results to the Secretary and the defense and appropriations committees; (3) MDA Director to establish cost, schedule, and performance baselines for each block configuration of the BMD system being fielded, and to include such information in required Selected Acquisition reports to Congress; and (4) MDA Director to include in such reports any significant variations from the established baselines.
Subtitle D: Other Matters - (Sec. 241) Directs the Secretary, for each of FY 2006 through 2009, to report to the defense committees on the submarine technologies that are available or potentially available for insertion into Navy submarines to reduce their production and operating costs while maintaining or improving their effectiveness.
(Sec. 242) Expresses the sense of Congress: (1) in strong support of the Advanced Shipbuilding Enterprise for reducing the cost of building and repairing ships in the United States; and (2) that the Secretary should continue to provide in the future-years defense program funding for the Enterprise at a sustained level to support additional research for reducing such cost.
Title III: Operation and Maintenance - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - (Sec. 301) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for operation and maintenance (O&M) for the Armed Forces and specified activities and agencies of DOD.
(Sec. 302) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for: (1) working capital funds; (2) the Defense Health Program; (3) chemical agents and munitions destruction, defense; (4) defense drug interdiction and counter-drug activities; and (5) the Defense Inspector General.
Subtitle B: Environmental Provisions - (Sec. 311) Deems the Defense Inspector General in compliance with certain requirements under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 if such Inspector General conducts periodic audits of payments, obligations, reimbursements, and other uses of the Hazardous Substances Fund. Requires a report to Congress on each audit conducted.
(Sec. 312) Authorizes the Secretary to transfer specified DOD O&M funds to a named account as reimbursement to the Environmental Protection Agency for certain cleanup costs associated with the Moses Lake Wellfield Superfund Site, Washington.
(Sec. 313) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1999 to increase the amount authorized for an environmental remediation project in Front Royal, Virginia.
(Sec. 314) Directs the Secretary of the Army to carry out the small boat harbor project in Unalaska, Alaska.
(Sec. 315) Requires the Secretary of the Air Force to report to the defense committees on current and anticipated encroachments on the use and utility of the special use airspace of the Utah Test and Training Range, including encroachments brought about through actions of other Federal agencies.
(Sec. 316) Directs the CG to study, and report to Congress on, the availability of cost-effective technologies for the cleanup of groundwater contamination at DOD installations in lieu of traditional methods such as pump-and-treat.
Sec. 317) Requires the CG to: (1) study drinking water contamination and related health effects at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; (2) ensure study participation by other interested (affected) parties; and (3) report study results and recommendations to the defense and appropriations committees.
(Sec. 318) Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary should: (1) work to develop a national plan to remediate perchlorate contamination resulting from DOD activities; (2) continue any current remediation; (3) develop a remediation plan with respect to contamination at levels that pose a hazard to human health; and (4) continue the process of evaluating and prioritizing contamination sites without waiting for the development of a Federal drinking water standard for perchlorate.
Subtitle C: Workplace and Depot Issues - (Sec. 321) Revises the due dates and content requirements of annual DOD reports concerning funds expended for depot-level maintenance and repair workloads.
(Sec. 322) Repeals an annual reporting requirement from the Secretary to the defense committees on the number of employees performing depot-level maintenance and repair of materiel.
(Sec. 323) Extends through 2009 the authority to waive limitations on the performance of depot-level maintenance of materiel with respect to certain expenditures incurred in the operation of Centers of Industrial and Technical Excellence.
(Sec. 324) Amends the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act (Stump Act) for Fiscal Year 2003 to extend through FY 2006 the temporary authority within DOD for contractor performance of security-guard functions. Extends dates of, and requires the inclusion of additional information within, related reports.
(Sec. 325) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to carry out a pilot program for the purchase of certain municipal services needed for an Army installation from a county or municipality in which the installation is located. Allows up to two Army installations to participate in the pilot program. Requires: (1) an implementation report from the Secretary to the defense and appropriations committees and the CG; and (2) the CG to submit to such committees an assessment of such report. Terminates program authority on September 30, 2010.
(Sec. 326) Revises Federal procurement policy protest provisions to include requirements for bid protests by Federal employees in actions under Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76 (private performance of an activity or function of a Federal agency) regarding an activity or function performed by more than 65 full-time equivalent employees of a Federal agency. Authorizes an agency tender official to file a protest in connection with a public-private competition for which such official is an interested party. Allows an appropriate Federal official to intervene in a civil action concerning a public-private competition if a private-sector interested party so intervenes.
(Sec. 327) Requires that, if a public-private competition requires the inclusion of a formal comparison of costs of civilian-versus-contractor performance, the Secretary shall maintain the continued performance of such activity or function by the civilian employees unless the competitive sourcing official determines that the costs of contractor performance would be less costly to DOD by either $10 million or ten percent of the most efficient organization's personnel-related costs for performance by DOD civilian employees. Requires the Secretary to ensure that no DOD organization, function, or activity is consolidated, restructured, or otherwise modified in order to circumvent the formal comparison requirements. Provides an exemption from such requirements in the case of a public-private competition conducted as part of the best-value source selection pilot program authorized under the NDAA for FY 2004.
(Sec. 328) Requires the Inspector General to report to Congress on whether DOD employs a sufficient number of trained civilian employees to: (1) satisfactorily conduct all of the public-private competitions scheduled to be undertaken by DOD during the next fiscal year; and (2) administer any resulting contracts.
Subtitle D: Information Technology - (Sec. 331) Directs the Secretary to prepare, and report to the defense and appropriations committees on, a plan to provide for the transition of DOD information technology systems to Internet Protocol version 6 from the present use of version 4 and other network protocols.
(Sec. 332) Outlines required conditions for the obligation of DOD funds for a defense business system modernization having a total cost in excess of $1 million, including that: (1) such system comply with a specified enterprise architecture; and (2) certification of such system has been approved by the Defense Business Systems Management Committee. Requires the Secretary to develop an enterprise architecture to cover all defense business systems and their functions and activities, as well as a transition plan. Requires a defense business system investment review. Directs the Secretary to include information concerning each defense business system modernization in annual budget materials submitted to Congress for FY 2006 and thereafter. Requires compliance reports in each of the years 2005 through 2009. Directs the Secretary to establish a Defense Business Systems Management Committee to: (1) recommend to the Secretary policies and procedures with respect to defense business system transformation, reform, reorganization, or improvements; and (2) review and approve any major update of the defense business enterprise architecture developed under this section. Requires an annual report from the CG to the defense and appropriations committees assessing the extent to which actions taken by DOD comply with requirements of this section.
(Sec. 333) Requires the Secretary to report to the defense committees on a test program on the maturity and effectiveness of the Global Information Grid-Bandwidth Expansion network architecture.
Subtitle E: Extensions of Program Authorities - (Sec. 341) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004 to extend through FY 2006 the Secretary's authority to provide prepaid phone cards or equivalent telecommunications benefits to certain members of the Armed Forces stationed outside the United States.
(Sec. 342) Amends the Spence Act to extend through FY 2008 a demonstration program to maintain the viability and unique capabilities at Army manufacturing arsenals.
(Sec. 343) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 1998 to: (1) extend through FY 2006 a pilot program of using commercial services to improve the collection of DOD claims under aircraft engine warranties; and (2) direct the Secretary to report to Congress on such program.
Subtitle F: Other Matters - (Sec. 351) Directs the Secretary to reimburse a member of the Armed Forces for the cost of any protective, safety, or health equipment that was purchased in anticipation of or during deployment in connection with Operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, or Iraqi Freedom if: (1) the Secretary certifies that such equipment was critical to the protection, safety, or health of the member; (2) the member was not issued such equipment before any such operations; and (3) the equipment was purchased during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, and ending on July 31, 2004.
(Sec. 352) Prohibits FY 2005 DOD O&M funds from being obligated for preparing or implementing the Mid-Range Financial Improvement Plan until the Secretary reports to the defense and appropriations committees: (1) a determination that the enterprise architecture and transition plan required under section 332 of this Act has been developed; (2) an explanation of the use of such funds; and (3) an estimate of the costs to prepare and implement the Plan in future years.
(Sec. 353) Authorizes a working-capital funded Army industrial facility, subject to specified conditions, to enter into cooperative arrangements with non-Army entities to carry out military or commercial projects at the facility, including the sale of manufactured articles and the performance of work. Terminates such authority on September 30, 2009.
(Sec. 354) Directs (current law authorizes) the Secretary to transfer to State firefighting agencies excess DOD personal property suitable for firefighting purposes.
Title IV: Military Personnel Authorizations - Subtitle A: Active Forces - (Sec. 401) Sets forth authorized end strengths for active-duty forces as of the end of FY 2005.
(Sec. 402) Revises, effective October 1, 2004, the permanent active-duty end strength minimum levels for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force.
(Sec. 403) Authorizes the Secretary, during FY 2005 through 2009, to increase, by up to 30,000 for the Army and 9,000 for the Marine Corps, the end strength authorized to support operational missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and to achieve transformational reorganization objectives. Requires that fiscal year's budget to specify the amounts necessary to fund the additional end strength(s).
(Sec. 404) Excludes up to 100 permanent and career professors at the military academies from annual officer end strength limits.
Subtitle B: Reserve Forces - (Sec. 411) Sets forth authorized end strengths as of the end of FY 2005 for members of the Selected Reserve and reserve personnel on active duty in support of the reserves.
(Sec. 413) Sets forth the minimum end strength for FY 2005 for Army and Air Force dual status military technicians.
(Sec. 414) Places specified FY 2005 limits on the number of non-dual status technicians authorized to be employed by the Army and Air Force Reserve and National Guard.
(Sec. 415) Sets forth the maximum number of reserve personnel authorized to be on active duty during FY 2005 for operational support.
(Sec. 416) Requires Congress to annually authorize the maximum number of reserve personnel permitted to be on: (1) active duty or full-time National Guard duty for providing operational support or preparing for and performing military funeral honors functions; and (2) active duty (or retained on active duty) while in a captive status or for medical evaluation or treatment. Includes certain reserve personnel within annual authorized active-duty end strength limits. Authorizes the Secretary to increase such end strength limits for a fiscal year by up to ten percent. Excludes: (1) certain reserve and National Guard personnel from annual authorized active-duty end strength limits; and (2) from specified personnel limits reserve personnel engaged in military-to-military contacts and comparable activities. Provides for: (1) field grade officer strength accounting; and (2) active Guard and reserve field grade officer strength accounting. Excludes from warrant officer active-duty end strength limits reserve warrant officers: (1) on active duty for any of the first two purposes specified in this section; or (2) on full-time National Guard duty. Repeals the requirement that members of the National Guard on active duty or full-time National Guard duty for performing drug interdiction and counter-drug activities be excluded from the authorized end strengths for reserve personnel performing active duty in support of the reserve components. Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense committees on the exclusions from active-duty end strengths provided under this section. Subtitle C: Authorizations of Appropriations - (Sec. 421) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for: (1) military personnel; and (2) the Armed Forces Retirement Home.
Title V: Military Personnel Policy - Subtitle A: Officer Personnel Policy - (Sec. 501) Repeals the prohibition against a person receiving an original appointment as a commissioned officer until the person has completed one year of service on active duty as a commissioned officer of a reserve component. Allows a person to qualify for such original appointment if he or she completes 20 years of active commissioned service before his or her 62nd (currently, 55th) birthday. Authorizes the Secretary to waive the requirement that a person receiving such an appointment be a citizen of the United States in the case of a person lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence when the Secretary determines that the national security so requires, but only for an original appointment in a grade below major or lieutenant commander. Requires the President alone (currently, with the advice and consent of the Senate) to make original appointments in the grades of second lieutenant through captain in the regular Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, and ensign through lieutenant in the regular Navy. Repeals limitations on the total authorized end strength of regular commissioned officers serving on active duty. Authorizes the Secretary concerned to discharge certain officers, or transfer certain officers from an active-duty list to a reserve active-status list, in order to force shape (restructure) that armed force. Requires appointment in a regular component, and service as a second lieutenant or ensign, for students graduating from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Repeals the requirement that a member serve for his or her last six years in a reserve component to be eligible for nonregular (reserve) retirement.
(Sec. 502) Repeals the requirement that Deputy and Assistant Chiefs of Naval Operations be selected from officers in the line of the Navy.
(Sec. 503) Limits to 30 the total number of brigadier generals and rear admirals (lower half) on the active-duty list who are authorized to be frocked (to wear the insignia of such higher grade prior to the actual promotion date) to major general or rear admiral (upper half).
(Sec. 504) Revises the required distribution in grade of Marine Corps Reserve officers in an active status in grades below brigadier general.
(Sec. 505) Authorizes Federal recognition of National Guard commissioned officers appointed from former Coast Guard personnel.
(Sec. 506) Directs the Secretary to study, and report to Congress on, whether it would be equitable for retired officers on active duty, but not on the active-duty list, to be eligible for consideration for promotion.
(Sec. 507) Provides that, upon a vacancy in the office of the Chief of the National Guard Bureau or in the event such Chief is unable to perform such duties, the senior officer of the Army or Air National Guard on duty with the Bureau shall serve as acting Chief until a successor is appointed or the Chief is able to perform such duties.
(Sec. 508) Redesignates the Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau as the Director of the Joint Staff of the National Guard Bureau.
Subtitle B: Reserve Component Policy Matters - (Sec. 511) Removes references to planned mobilizations from the statutory purposes of the reserve components. (Sec. 512) Authorizes the Secretary to provide funds to a State governor to employ National Guard units or members to conduct homeland defense activities (the protection of U.S. territory, population, or infrastructure). Considers such duty as full-time National Guard duty. Limits such duty to 180 days, with an authorized extension of up to 90 days to meet extraordinary circumstances. Authorizes a State governor to request such assistance, requiring within such request the specific intended homeland defense activities anticipated and an explanation of why such National Guard participation is necessary and appropriate. Requires an annual report from the Secretary to the defense and appropriations committees on any assistance provided and activities carried out. Excludes persons performing such duty from annual National Guard full-time duty end strengths.
(Sec. 513) Establishes the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves to study: (1) the roles and missions of the National Guard and other reserve components; and (2) the compensation and other benefits currently provided to such members. Requires an interim and final report from the Commission to the defense committees. Requires the Secretary, beginning in 2006, to annually review study results and report review results to the defense committees.
(Sec. 514) Allows the Secretary concerned to order a member of the reserves, without the member's consent, to active duty for training. (Currently, the Secretary concerned may order a reserve member to any active duty other than for training.)
(Sec. 515) Reduces from 5,000 to 3,500 the minimum number of active-duty personnel to serve as advisers to various units of the Selected Reserve. Directs the Secretary of the Army to report to the defense committees on the support by active components of the Army for training and readiness of the Army National Guard and Army Reserve.
(Sec. 516) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to accept voluntary services to support programs of a committee of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve.
(Sec. 517) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy, with the approval of the President, to redesignate the Naval Reserve as the Navy Reserve.
(Sec. 518) Directs the CG to review, and report to the defense committees on, a plan of the Secretary of the Navy for the integration of active and reserve Navy components in peacetime and wartime operations.
(Sec. 519) Prohibits the Secretary from establishing in any one State more than two academies for the STARBASE Program (a science, mathematics, and technology education improvement program). Authorizes a waiver of such limitation.
(Sec. 520) Allows funds authorized to be appropriated to the Army Reserve, Army National Guard, or Air National Guard for the recruitment and retention of personnel to be expended to procure items of nominal or modest value ($50 or less) to recognize Reserve or Guard members, their families, or other individuals for support that substantially facilitates such Reserve or Guard service. Terminates such authority at the end of 2005.
Subtitle C: Reserve Component Personnel Matters - (Sec. 521) States that, for disability retirement eligibility purposes, a reserve member ordered to active duty for a period of more than 30 days who is released prior to such 30 days for failure to meet physical standards for retention, or medical or dental standards for deployment due to a preexisting condition not aggravated during such duty period, shall be considered to have been serving under an order to active duty for a period of 30 days or less.
(Sec. 523) Removes the prohibition on the receipt of Federal civil service military leave for reserve and National Guard civilian technicians performing active duty during a war or national emergency.
(Sec. 524) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to provide an individual who has received a commission as an Army Reserve officer from a military junior college but who does not have a baccalaureate degree with financial assistance for the pursuit of such a degree. Outlines agreement and reimbursement requirements in connection with such assistance. Prohibits such an officer from being called or ordered to active duty for a deployment while participating in such program. Authorizes such Secretary to provide the same financial assistance with respect to service in troop program units. Directs the Secretary of the Army to report to the defense committees annually for six years after the enactment of this Act on the implementation of the financial assistance program.
(Sec. 525) Repeals the December 31, 2006, sunset on the provision of financial assistance for advanced training for Senior ROTC students not otherwise eligible for such training who have successfully completed their first year of Senior ROTC studies.
(Sec. 526) Revises a program under which the Secretary is authorized to repay certain educational loans of enlisted members of the Selected Reserve in return for service as members with critical specialties to allow the Secretary to repay such a loan in connection with service performed by a member as an officer in the case of a borrower who, after the service commitment is entered into and while performing service as an enlisted member, accepts an appointment or commission as a Selected Reserve warrant or commissioned officer.
(Sec. 527) Directs the Secretary of each military department (and the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy) to establish and maintain a program to provide educational assistance to members of the Ready Reserve under the jurisdiction of that Secretary. Limits such educational assistance to the following percentages of that authorized under the Montgomery GI Bill program for former active-duty personnel: (1) 40 percent, for a reserve member who performs active service for 90 consecutive days but less than one continuous year; (2) 60 percent, for a reserve member who performs active service for one continuous year but less than two continuous years; or (3) 80 percent, for a reserve member who performs active service for two consecutive years or more. Limits the term of such assistance to 36 months, or its equivalent in part-time educational assistance. Continues assistance eligibility for members ordered to active duty while serving in the Selected Reserve or Ready Reserve.
(Sec. 528) Expresses the sense of Congress that the Internal Revenue Service should provide guidance to promote and ensure the validity of involuntary differential pay arrangements, benefits payments, and contributions to retirement savings plans related thereto.
Subtitle D: Joint Officer Management and Professional Military Education - (Sec. 531) Directs the Secretary to develop a strategic plan for joint officer management and joint professional military education that links joint officer development to the accomplishment of the overall missions and goals of DOD, as set forth in the most recent national military strategy. Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense committees on: (1) the developed plan; and (2) an additional assessment of the performance in joint matters of specified senior officers and DOD employees.
(Sec. 532) Codifies under Federal Armed Forces law provisions relating to professional military education and currently contained in the NDAA for Fiscal Year 1990. Revises such provisions to, among other things: (1) reduce and consolidate the number of subjects that joint professional military education must include; (2) require the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to advise and assist the Secretary in designating and certifying certain courses of instruction for such education; and (3) delete the requirement of a written examination as part of the evaluation criteria for selecting officers for full-time attendance at intermediate-level service schools.
(Sec. 533) Extends to September 30, 2008, the date after which an officer must be selected for the joint officer specialty before promotion to the grade of brigadier general or rear admiral (lower half).
(Sec. 534) Allows officers to continue to accumulate joint credit when serving consecutive joint duty assignments, even if those assignments are not within the same organization.
(Sec. 535) Extends through December 27, 2006, the temporary authority regarding promotion comparison standards for joint specialty officers.
(Sec. 536) Extends, from 2004 through 2006, the authority to waive the requirement that reserve chiefs and National Guard directors have significant joint duty experience. Requires a plan from the Secretary, submitted to the defense committees, to ensure that all officers selected for such positions after such date have significant joint duty experience.
Subtitle E: Military Service Academies - (Sec. 541) Authorizes the Secretary to waive the requirement that a service academy superintendent retire upon the end of the prescribed period of such service. Requires, in such case, notification of the defense committees with a statement of the reasons therefor. Requires such individuals to serve at least a three-year term as superintendent. Requires that if a superintendent is reassigned, retires, or otherwise leaves such service before the three-year period, then the Secretary concerned must notify the defense committees of the reasons for the curtailed assignment.
(Sec. 542) Requires any person appointed or assigned as Dean of the Air Force Academy to hold the highest degree in that person's academic field.
(Sec. 543) Revises provisions concerning the constitution of an annual Board of Visitors to the United States Air Force Academy to: (1) modify the conditions for termination of Board members who are members of Congress; and (2) require semiannual Board reports to Congress.
(Sec. 544) Permits appropriated funds to be treated as nonappropriated funds for all service academy athletic and extracurricular programs and similar support mission activities that: (1) are not considered morale, welfare, and recreation programs or activities; (2) are funded out of appropriated funds; (3) are supported by a supplemental mission nonappropriated fund instrumentality; and (4) are not operated as a private organization.
(Sec. 545) Codifies under Federal Armed Forces law provisions of the NDAA for Fiscal Year 1995 which prohibit the imposition of charges for tuition, room, or board at the military academies and the U.S. Coast Guard and Merchant Marine Academies.
Subtitle F: Other Education and Training Matters - (Sec. 551) Authorizes the Secretary of each military department to establish a program to increase the number and level of qualifications of persons entering the Armed Forces as enlisted members by encouraging recruits to pursue higher education or vocational or technical training before entry into active service. Authorizes the Secretary concerned to provide for delayed entry, through service in the reserves or National Guard, while allowing for such education or training. Limits such delayed entry to 30 months after accepting an enlistment. Provides a monthly allowance during such delayed entry (requiring satisfactory service in the reserves or National Guard during such period). Requires a pro rate recoupment of such allowance for any period of service not successfully completed during the delayed entry period.
(Sec. 552) Requires that military recruiters be given access to college or university campuses and students that is at least equal in quality and scope to the access provided to any other employer. Includes funds made available for the Department of Homeland Security, the National Nuclear Security Administration of the Department of Energy, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) among the funding sources that could be terminated if an institution is found to have a policy of preventing military recruiter or Senior ROTC unit access.
(Sec. 553) Includes commissioned officers serving on full-time National Guard duty among those for whom the Secretary concerned may pay tuition or other educational expenses for education or training during off-duty periods. Authorizes the Secretary concerned to reduce or waive the required two years of active-duty service following the completion of such education or training in the case of: (1) a commissioned officer who is subject to mandatory separation or who has completed the period of active-duty service in support of a contingency operation; or (2) other exigent circumstances. Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to pay such educational or training expenses for an officer in the Selected Reserve of the Army National Guard or Army Reserve.
(Sec. 554) Increases, from two to three years, the maximum period of educational leave for certain active-duty personnel pursuing a program of education in a health care profession.
(Sec. 555) Makes eligible for military medical and dental care cadets or midshipmen at a U.S. military academy, or members or applicants for membership in the Senior ROTC, who incur or aggravate an injury, illness, or disease in the line of duty or while traveling to or from such duty. Provides an exception when the condition is the result of gross negligence or misconduct. Makes cadets and midshipmen eligible for military medical disability pay with respect to disabilities incurred after the date of enactment of this Act.
(Sec. 556) Shifts the authority for conferring associate degrees at the Community College of the Air Force from the commander of the Air Education and Training Command to the commander of Air University.
(Sec. 557) Redesignates the Superintendent of the Naval Postgraduate School as the President of the Naval Postgraduate School. Establishes at such School the position of Provost and Academic Dean.
Subtitle G: Assistance to Local Educational Agencies for Defense Dependents Education - (Sec. 558) Provides an adjustment, with respect to the 2004-2005 school year, in the computation of impact aid funding provided by the Department of Education to certain local educational agencies heavily impacted by dependents of military personnel.
(Sec. 559) Earmarks specified DOD O&M funds for assistance to local educational agencies that benefit dependents of members of the Armed Forces and DOD civilian employees. Requires the Secretary to notify each agency eligible for such assistance.
(Sec. 560) Earmarks specified DOD O&M funds for impact aid assistance for children with severe disabilities, as authorized under the Spence Act.
Subtitle H: Medals and Decorations and Special Promotions and Appointments - (Sec. 561) Authorizes the posthumous award of the Medal of Honor to a deceased, unidentified casualty of a particular war or other armed conflict who is interred in the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, as the representative of the members who died in such war or conflict, and not to the individual personally.
(Sec. 562) Directs the Secretary of the Army to submit to the defense committees a plan for revised criteria and eligibility requirements for the award of the Combat Infantryman Badge and Combat Medical Badge for service in the Republic of Korea after July 28, 1953.
(Sec. 563) Authorizes the President to appoint Brigadier General Charles E. Yeager, U.S. Air Force (retired), to the grade of major general on the Air Force retired list.
(Sec. 564) Authorizes the President to issue a posthumous commission as major general, U.S. Army, for the late William Mitchell, who resigned his commission as colonel on February 1, 1926.
Subtitle I: Military Voting - (Sec. 566) Amends the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to: (1) include absentee military voters; and (2) include absent military voters under write-in ballot requirements and restrictions.
(Sec. 567) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2002 to delay an electronic voting demonstration project until the first regularly scheduled general Federal election after the Election Assistance Commission notifies the Secretary that the Commission has established electronic absentee voting guidelines and certifies that it will assist the Secretary in carrying out the demonstration project.
(Sec. 568) Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on: (1) operations of the Federal Voting Assistance Program to support absentee military voting; (2) the military postal system to support morale and absentee voting of members; and (3) implementation of recommended postal system improvements.
Subtitle J: Military Justice Matters - (Sec. 571) Directs the Secretary to: (1) review the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and the Manual for Courts-Martial to determine changes required to improve the ability of the military justice system to address issues relating to sexual assault and to conform the UCMJ and such Manual more closely to other Federal laws and regulations addressing such issues; and (2) report to the defense committees on the results of such review.
(Sec. 572) Provides that service time will not be considered lost (and therefore required to be made up) for a period of confinement in connection with a trial when the charge is dismissed, the individual is acquitted, or the conviction is set aside or dismissed.
(Sec. 573) Requires the Secretary to ensure that: (1) the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory has adequate personnel and resources to effectively process forensic evidence within 60 days of its receipt; (2) consistent policies are established among the Armed Forces to reduce the time between the collection of such evidence and its processing; and (3) laboratory personnel are appropriately trained.
(Sec. 574) Prohibits any DOD officer or employee from interfering with the ability of military department judge advocate generals (JAGs) to provide independent legal advice to their service secretaries and chiefs and military unit commanders. Requires the Secretary to appoint an independent panel to study, and report to the defense committees on, the relationships between the legal elements of each military department, and necessary policy changes for improving such relationships.
Subtitle K: Sexual Assault in the Armed Forces - (Sec. 576) Directs the Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies, established under the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004, to: (1) continue for at least 18 additional months after its scheduled termination; (2) after such period, change its name to the Defense Task Force on Sexual Assault in the Military Services; (3) conduct an examination of matters relating to sexual assault in cases in which members of the Armed Forces are either victims of, or perpetrators of, acts of sexual assault; (4) recommend ways by DOD officials and Armed Forces leadership may more effectively address matters relating to sexual assault; and (5) report on examination results to the Secretaries of Defense and the military departments. Requires the Secretary to submit such report, together with an evaluation, to the defense committees. Terminates the task force 90 days after its final report.
(Sec. 577) Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a comprehensive DOD policy on the prevention of and response to sexual assaults involving members of the Armed Forces; (2) submit to Congress a proposal for necessary legislation to enhance DOD capability to address such matters; and (3) ensure that the policy developed is implemented uniformly by the military departments. Requires the Secretaries concerned to: (1) take appropriate action to ensure the implementation of such policies and procedures; (2) annually assess such implementation; and (3) report annually to the Secretary on sexual assaults involving members of that armed force. Directs the Secretary to submit each such report to the defense committees. Requires DOD, prior to the development of such policies and procedures, to develop a definition of sexual assault that is uniform for all the Armed Forces.
Subtitle L: Management and Administrative Matters - (Sec. 581) Extends, from FY 2005 through FY 2008, certain limitations on reductions of military and civilian personnel assigned to the review and correction of military records.
(Sec. 582) Mandates that, if the staffing of the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office falls below its prescribed level, the Secretary shall notify the defense committees of the number of such personnel, together with a plan to restore such staffing to the prescribed level. Requires the CG to assess the staffing and funding levels for such Office and to report results to such committees.
(Sec. 583) Directs the Secretary concerned, in issuing military ID cards to retiree dependents, to issue a permanent ID card (not subject to renewal) to any such dependent who has attained 70 years of age.
(Sec. 584) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to furnish civilian clothing, at a cost not to exceed $250, to members traveling in connection with a medical evacuation to a military medical facility or another medical facility approved by such Secretary.
(Sec. 585) Authorizes the Secretary to accept the donation of frequent traveler miles, credits, and tickets to facilitate rest and recuperation travel of deployed members of the Armed Forces and their families. Requires consent to such donation by the air or surface carrier that issued the benefit. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude such traveler miles, credits, and tickets from gross income for tax liability purposes.
(Sec. 586) Directs the Secretary to report annually to the defense committees on discharges from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps during the preceding fiscal year.
(Sec. 587) Requires a report from the Secretary of the Air Force to Congress on the blended wing concept for the Air Force.
(Sec. 588) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) members of the Armed Forces who on their own initiative are highly motivated to return to active-duty service following rehabilitation from injuries incurred in such service, after appropriate medical review, should be given the opportunity to so return; (2) other than appropriate medical review, there should be no barrier to a member having the option to so return; and (3) the Secretary should develop protocols that expand options for such members' return to active-duty service.
Subtitle M: Other Matters - (Sec. 591) Protects military personnel from retaliatory actions for communications made through the military chain of command.
(Sec. 592) Directs the Secretary to: (1) submit to Congress a plan for implementation of the authority to allow for accession into the Armed Forces of persons with specialized skills, for performing duty using such skills; and (2) study, and report to the defense committees on, how to make civilian volunteers with critical skills rapidly available for use in, or support of, units of the Armed Forces on a temporary basis to meet operational requirements.
(Sec. 593) Directs the Secretary to carry out an initiative of enhanced screening methods and process improvements for the recruitment of home-schooled and National Guard Challenge Program GED recipients. Requires related reports.
(Sec. 594) Renames the National Guard Challenge Program the National Guard Youth Challenge Program.
(Sec. 595) Directs the Secretary to report to the defense committees: (1) on the number of positions in DOD that were converted during FY 2004 from performance by military personnel to performance by DOD civilian or contractor personnel; (2) in each of 2005 through 2007, on military-to-military capabilities or skills conversions; and (3) annually, on the status of the internal transformation of the Army from a division-oriented force to a brigade-oriented force.
(Sec. 596) Directs the Secretary of the Army to study, and report to the defense committees on, the issues relating to requests for disinterment of remains of persons buried in overseas U.S. military cemeteries. Requires the report to include recommendations by such Secretary and the American Battle Monuments Commission for changing current policy and procedures with respect to such disinterments.
(Sec. 597) Requires a report from the CG to the defense committees assessing DOD policy and criteria regarding the closure of: (1) DOD dependent elementary and secondary schools; and (2) commissary stores.
(Sec. 598) Directs the CG to study, and report to the defense committees on, programs of DOD and other Federal departments and agencies under which transition assistance is provided to personnel who are separating from active-duty service.
(Sec. 599) Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Labor to jointly carry out a study of ways to coordinate the standards applied by the Armed Forces for the training and certification of members in military occupational specialties with the standards applied to corresponding civilian occupations of government and the private sector.
Title VI: Compensation and Other Personnel Benefits - Subtitle A: Pay and Allowances - (Sec. 601) Waives any FY 2005 pay increases tied to increases in the General Schedule of Compensation for Government employees. Increases, effective January 1, 2005, by 3.5 percent the rates of basic pay for military personnel.
(Sec. 602) Prohibits the Secretary concerned, in determining a member's eligibility for supplemental subsistence allowance for low-income members with dependents, from considering such member's receipt of either (or both) special pay for duty subject to hostile fire or imminent danger, or the family separation allowance. Makes members who receive the supplemental subsistence allowance eligible for other Federal assistance, such as programs under the National School Lunch Act and the Head Start Act.
(Sec. 603) Authorizes (current law requires) the Secretary concerned to pay a family separation basic allowance for housing when a member's dependents are unable to accompany a member to a new location.
(Sec. 604) Provides that, if a member is assigned to a new area for military education or training lasting one year or less, the Secretary concerned may base the amount of the basic allowance for housing due to such member on either the duty station to which the member is reassigned or the area in which the member's dependents still reside, whichever such Secretary determines is the most equitable.
(Sec. 605) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to make an immediate lump-sum reimbursement for unusual nonrecurring expenses incurred by members serving outside the continental United States.
(Sec. 606) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to provide a member with advance basic pay of up to three months (one month automatically at the member's request and up to two additional months based upon a showing of financial hardship) for members assigned for one year or more to locations at which imminent danger special pay is authorized. Requires the Secretary concerned to recoup any such advance over a one-year period beginning the month after the advance is received.
(Sec. 607) Repeals the requirement that officers and certain enlisted personnel pay subsistence charges while hospitalized in a military medical facility.
Subtitle B: Bonuses and Special and Incentive Pays - (Sec. 611) Extends, through 2005, specified authorities currently scheduled to expire at the end of 2004 with respect to certain special pay and bonus programs within the regular and reserve Armed Forces.
(Sec. 615) Authorizes the payment of hazardous duty incentive pay ( up to $150 monthly) for regular participation as a firefighting crew member.
(Sec. 616) Reduces, from four to three years, the service commitment required for the nurse accession bonus.
(Sec. 617) Discontinues assignment incentive pay upon commencement of terminal leave (leave at the end of which the member will be discharged or released from active duty).
(Sec. 618) Authorizes the payment of an active-duty or Selected Reserve reenlistment bonus for up to 16 (currently 14) years of service. Increases the maximum amount of the Selected Reserve reenlistment bonus from: (1) $5,000 to $15,000 for a reenlistment extension of six years; (2) $2,500 to $7,500 for an extension of three years; and (3) $2,000 to $6,000 for an extension of three years when the member has already received a bonus for a previous three-year period. Authorizes such bonuses to be made in lump-sum payments. Increases similarly the: (1) Selected Reserve enlistment bonus; (2) Ready Reserve enlistment bonuses for individuals with and without prior Ready Reserve service; and (3) prior service enlistment bonus for members of the Selected Reserve.
(Sec. 619) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to pay an affiliation bonus to an eligible commissioned officer who enters into an agreement to serve for a specified period in the Selected Reserve: (1) in a designated critical officer skill; or (2) to meet a manpower shortage in a unit of the Selected Reserve or a particular pay grade of that armed force. Outlines provisions concerning commissioned officer eligibility and critical skill designation by the Secretary concerned.
Authorizes the Secretary concerned to pay an accession bonus of up to $6,000 to an individual who enters into an agreement to: (1) accept an appointment as a commissioned officer in the Armed Forces; and (2) serve in the Selected Reserve in a designated critical skill. Requires bonus repayment for failure to commence or complete the period of obligated service (determined by the Secretary concerned, but a minimum of three years).
(Sec. 620) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to pay a monthly bonus of up to $1,000 to members who maintain proficiency in a foreign language, the proficiency of which is necessary due to national defense or public health considerations. Authorizes the payment of a one-time bonus of up to $6,000 for reserve members who meet such requirements. Requires certification by the Secretary concerned of a member's proficiency in that foreign language. Allows the Secretary concerned to waive the certification requirement in the case of a member assigned to duty in connection with a contingency operation when the member otherwise meets such requirements. Requires pro rata bonus repayments for periods not successfully served.
(Sec. 621) Makes enlisted personnel eligible to receive a critical skills retention bonus while serving on an indefinite reenlistment of at least one year.
(Sec. 622) Allows reserve (currently, only regular) personnel to be paid a bonus of up to $2,000 for converting to critical occupational specialties in order to ease personnel shortages.
(Sec. 623) Makes permanent (current law provides for termination at the end of 2004) the increase in the monthly rates of: (1) imminent danger pay from $150 to $225; and (2) the family separation allowance from $100 to $250.
Subtitle C: Travel and Transportation Allowances - (Sec. 631) Authorizes a travel and transportation allowance, for two days and the time necessary for travel, for family members to attend burial ceremonies of members who die while on active duty. Removes a condition on the eligibility of parents to receive such allowance.
(Sec. 632) Limits to three (currently, two) the number of family members permitted transportation at Government expense to attend to the serious illness or injury of members of the Armed Forces. Authorizes a waiver of such limitation when determined appropriate by the Secretary concerned.
(Sec. 633) Includes, under travel and transportation allowances for dependent children of members stationed overseas, costs incurred for lodging necessitated by an interruption in travel caused by extraordinary circumstances.
Subtitle D: Retired Pay and Survivor Benefits - (Sec. 641) Provides a special rule for computing the high-36 month compensation average for disabled members of the reserves for purposes of retired pay calculation.
(Sec. 642) Repeals the current phase-in (lasting until December 31, 2004) of the concurrent receipt of military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities rated at 100 percent (thereby allowing immediate full payment of both).
(Sec. 643) Requires the Secretary to expedite completion of a study of Federal death benefits for survivors of members of the Armed Forces. Requires the President to promptly transmit any recommendations for legislation necessary to implement any recommended death benefit enhancements. Requires an interim increase in the death gratuity benefit by the same percentage as the annual increase in military basic pay. Directs the President concurrently with the budget submission for FY 2006, to submit to Congress recommendations regarding legislation on proposals that would provide enhanced death benefits for survivors of deceased members, requiring the inclusion in such recommendations of increases in the maximum benefit under the Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance program, as well as an additional set of death benefits for members who die in the line of duty while serving on active duty. Requires the FY 2006 defense budget to include recommendations on legislation for offsetting the increased outlays that would result from the enhanced benefits under this section.
(Sec. 644) Increases the annuities paid under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) to survivors of military retirees who are age 62 or older from the current 35 percent of the military retired pay of the member to: (1) 40 percent, for months after September 2005 and before April 2006; (2) 45 percent, for months after March 2006 and before April 2007; (3) 50 percent, for months after March 2007 and before April 2008; and (4) 55 percent, for months after March 2008. Makes corresponding adjustments under the SBP supplemental annuity program. Requires the recalculation of SBP annuities when the SBP percentages are increased. Eliminates the requirement that participating retirees continue to pay premiums for supplemental SBP coverage.
(Sec. 645) Allows an eligible retired or former member to elect to participate in the SBP and supplemental SBP during the one-year open enrollment period beginning on October 1, 2005. Allows, also during such period, a person currently participating in the SBP or supplemental SBP, but not at the maximum amount, to increase their participation amount. Voids any election made by a person who dies within a two-year period after such election. Requires the Secretary to prescribe an additional premium for the additional coverage under this section.
Subtitle E: Commissary and Nonappropriated Fund Instrumentality Benefits - (Sec. 651) Consolidates and reorganizes certain legislative provisions regarding commissary stores and other military morale, welfare, and recreation activities. Directs the Secretary to operate a worldwide system of commissary stores and a separate worldwide system of exchange stores. (Currently, the Defense Commissary Agency (DCA) is authorized to contract out for such services, and private persons are authorized to operate such stores.) Mandates that: (1) the needs of members on active duty and their dependents be the primary consideration for establishing a store and its location; and (2) the effect on the quality of life of members and their dependents and on the welfare and security of the appropriate military community be the primary consideration in store closure determinations. Requires congressional notification, at least 90 days in advance, in the case of the closure of a store other than one closed under a base closure law. Includes additional items among those authorized to be sold at commissary stores as space permits. Requires the Secretary to apply a uniform surcharge to be used for commissary and exchange store construction, repair, improvement, and maintenance. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) assign an officer on the active-duty list as Director of the DCA; (2) donate unusable commissary store food to charitable and veterans' organizations; (3) impose a charge for collection on dishonored checks; and (4) limit the release to the public of commercially valuable information on customer shopping contained in DCA databases.
Authorizes the Secretary to conduct a test program involving the sale of telephone cards, film, and one-time use cameras. Requires a report to the defense committees on test results. Directs the CG to study the impact that the expansion of merchandise for sale in commissary stores has on the exchange dividend.
(Sec. 652) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 1995 to identify the Department of Defense Nonappropriated Fund Uniform Health Benefits Program as a Federal health benefits program not subject to any State tax, fee, or payment, or State health plan requirement.
Subtitle F: Other Matters - (Sec. 661) Makes members eligible for the reimbursement of expenses incurred for adoption placements made by foreign governments.
(Sec. 662) Qualifies college loans, involving either a basic professional qualifying degree or graduate education in a profession, for repayment under the DOD education loan repayment program.
(Sec. 663) Permits members of the reserves on active duty in connection with a contingency operation to receive pay from civilian employers that would have been paid if the employment had not been interrupted by such active duty.
(Sec. 664) Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to make provisions under such Act allowing temporary relief from certain agricultural loan obligations applicable to military reservists who are mobilized during a war or national emergency or under a call or order to active-duty service for more than 30 days. Forgives loan interest payments during any such period, and defers loan principal payments until after such mobilization or service ends.
(Sec. 665) Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a survey of reserve personnel who serve, or have served, on active duty in support of a contingency operation during the period beginning September 11, 2001, and ending on September 30, 2005, to determine if such personnel experienced a reduction in monthly income during such period compared to the average monthly civilian income of such members during the 12 months preceding their mobilization; and (2) report survey results, together with appropriate recommendations, to Congress and the CG. Requires the CG to submit to Congress an assessment of the survey's findings and the Secretary's recommendations.
(Sec. 666) Directs the Secretary to: (1) study the totality of all current and projected disability benefits available to disabled members and former members of the Armed Forces for service-connected disabilities; (2) based on study results, determine the adequacy of such benefits; and (3) report results to the defense and veterans' committees. Directs the CG to: (1) identify disability benefits payable under Federal, State, and local laws for employees of Federal, State, and local governments; and (2) report results to such committees.
Title VII: Health Care Provisions - Subtitle A: Enhanced Benefits for Reserves - (Sec. 701) Authorizes coverage under TRICARE (a DOD managed health care program) for members of the Selected Reserve who complete active-duty service under a call or order to active duty of more than 30 days on or after September 11, 2001, if the member: (1) served continuously on active duty for 90 or more days pursuant to such call or order; and (2) on or before the release from such duty, enters into an agreement with the Secretary concerned to serve continuously in the Selected Reserve for one or more years following such active duty. Provides such members one year of TRICARE coverage for each 90 consecutive days of extended active-duty service so performed. Terminates any remaining coverage upon termination of Selected Reserve service. Requires a monthly premium for such coverage.
(Sec. 702) Requires the CG to: (1) conduct a study on the feasibility of providing a stipend to members of the Ready Reserve to offset the cost of continuing private health insurance coverage for the member's dependents while the member is on active duty for a period of more than 30 days, with the dependents being ineligible to enroll in the TRICARE program during the duty period and the stipend ending when the member completes such active duty; and (2) report study results to the defense committees.
(Sec. 703) Makes permanent (currently terminates on December 31, 2004) the special TRICARE benefits early-eligibility date for reserve personnel who are issued delayed-effective-date active-duty orders.
(Sec. 704) Authorizes the Secretary to waive deductible payments required by certain TRICARE programs for dependents of certain reserve or National Guard personnel called or ordered to active duty for more than 30 days (currently, less than one year).
(Sec. 705) Authorizes the Secretary to pay additional amounts billed by health care providers in the case of services provided to a dependent of a reserve member ordered to active duty for more than 30 days in support of a contingency operation.
(Sec. 706) Entitles members separated from active duty, and the dependents of such members, to medical and dental care through DOD for 180 days following the member's separation. (Currently, such transitional care is available for up to 120 days, depending upon the length of active-duty service prior to separation.) Directs the Secretary concerned to require each such member to undergo a comprehensive physical examination immediately before such separation (with an examination waiver for members who have undergone a physical within 12 months of such separation).
Subtitle B: Other Benefits Improvements - (Sec. 711) Authorizes enrollment in a TRICARE dental plan for a dependent child of a deceased member if such child was, at the time of the member's death, under the minimum age for enrollment.
(Sec. 712) Requires the CG to: (1) evaluate the effect of the Exceptional Family Member Program on health, education, and support services in selected civilian communities near military installations with a high concentration of Program enrollees; and (2) report evaluation results to the defense committees.
(Sec. 713) Authorizes the Secretary to ensure an effective transition in the furnishing of part-time or intermittent home health care benefits for covered beneficiaries who were receiving such benefits before the establishment of the sub-acute care program.
(Sec. 714) Prohibits the prescription drug cost-sharing requirements for Medicare-eligible military beneficiaries from exceeding such requirements applicable to non-Medicare-eligible beneficiaries.
(Sec. 715) Allows dependents under age 13 who are participating in a military dental plan to be treated by postgraduate dental students in eligible military dental treatment facilities under specified conditions, including treatment compliance with American Dental Association standards. Prohibits the total number of such patients from exceeding 2,000 in a fiscal year.
(Sec. 716) Authorizes the Secretary, with respect to benefits received during the period beginning on July 1, 1999, and ending on December 31, 2004, to waive the collection of payments due for health benefits received under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS), and to continue the provision of such benefits through 2004, in case of a member or dependent who was originally eligible for CHAMPUS benefits, became eligible for hospital insurance benefits under Medicare upon attaining the minimum age, and was unaware of the loss of eligibility for the CHAMPUS benefits after attaining eligibility for the Medicare benefits.
(Sec. 717) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 1995 to include marriage and family therapists under the DOD authority to enter into personal services contracts.
(Sec. 718) Directs the Secretary to establish an oversight advisory committee for the development and implementation of an effective program of chiropractic health care benefits for members serving on active duty. Requires: (1) a committee report to the Secretary; and (2) the Secretary to transmit such report to the defense committees, along with comments and recommendations. Terminates the committee 90 days after the report.
Subtitle C: Planning, Programming, and Management - (Sec. 721) Directs the Secretary to conduct a pilot program during FY 2005-2007 at two or more military installations for testing initiatives that build cooperative health care arrangements and agreements between military installations and local and regional non-military health care systems. Requires an interim and final program report from the Secretary to the defense committees.
(Sec. 722) Directs the Secretary to study the feasibility and desirability of providing that a member retired for a combat-related disability shall be provided reimbursement for expenses incurred by the member, during the two-year period following such retirement, for travel to a military treatment facility for medical care.
(Sec. 723) Requires the CG to study, and report to Congress on, mental health services available to members of the Armed Forces, including: (1) the availability and effectiveness of existing mental health treatment and screening resources; and (2) obstacles preventing members and their families from obtaining needed services.
(Sec. 724) Directs the Secretary to: (1) prescribe DOD policy for providing timely notification to the next of kin of the status of members who are seriously ill or injured in a combat zone; and (2) transmit to Congress a copy of such policy.
(Sec. 725) Revises the process for funding required annual payments into the Department of Defense Medicare-Eligible Retiree Health Care Fund to direct the Secretary of the Treasury, beginning in FY 2006, to make annual payments from the general fund of the Treasury. (Currently, the Secretary of Defense is required to make monthly payments into the Fund.) Requires the Secretary to certify appropriate amounts to the Secretary of the Treasury and submit to the defense committees the amounts so certified. Expresses the sense of Congress with respect to unsubscribed discretionary budget authority that accrues within the national defense budget function as a result of such payments.
(Sec. 726) Revises the grounds for presidential waiver of the requirement of informed consent or the option to refuse participation with respect to the DOD administration of drugs not approved for general public use.
(Sec. 727) Requires the Secretary to develop and submit to the defense committees recommendations for a formal TRICARE regional director selection process.
Subtitle D: Medical Readiness Tracking and Health Surveillance - (Sec. 731) Directs the Secretary to develop a comprehensive plan to improve medical readiness, and DOD tracking of the health status, of members of the Armed Forces throughout their military service and to strengthen medical readiness and tracking before, during, and after overseas deployment. Requires the Secretary to establish a Joint Medical Readiness Oversight Committee to oversee the development and implementation of such plan and to undertake related advisory and assistance services. Requires an annual Committee report.
(Sec. 732) Directs the CG to: (1) carry out a study of the health of reserve members who have been called or ordered to active duty for a period of more than 30 days in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom; and (2) report review results to the defense committees. Requires the Secretary to ensure that individual members and commanders of reserve units fulfill their responsibilities for medical and dental readiness of such members, which may include frequent member health assessments and follow-up care. Directs the Secretary to prescribe, for uniform application throughout the military departments, a policy on the deferral of medical treatment of members pending deployment.
(Sec. 733) Directs the Secretary to carry out a program to: (1) collect baseline health data from all persons entering the Armed Forces; and (2) provide for the computerized compilation and maintenance of such data. Requires blood samples necessary for: (1) predeployment medical examination of a member to be taken within 120 days before such deployment; and (2) postdeployment medical examination to be taken within 30 days after such deployment.
(Sec. 734) Requires the Secretary to: (1) prescribe a policy that requires the records of all medical care provided to a member in a theater of operations to be maintained as part of a complete health record for the member; (2) evaluate the system for the medical tracking and health surveillance of such members and take necessary action to improve such system; and (3) report to the defense committees on actions taken. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a plan for obtaining all records of medical treatment provided to members by U.S. allies in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom; and (2) prescribe a DOD policy on the collection and dissemination of in-theater individual personnel location data.
(Sec. 735) Directs the Secretary to: (1) review and revise DOD classification policies to facilitate the declassification of data that is potentially useful for the monitoring and assessment of the health of members who have been exposed to environmental hazards during overseas deployments; and (2) consult with senior commanders of in-theater forces of the combatant commands in carrying out such review and revision.
(Sec. 736) Directs the Secretary to report to the defense committees on the training in environmental hazards provided by DOD to military medical personnel who are deployable to the field in direct support of combat personnel.
(Sec. 737) Directs the Secretary to prescribe a policy that ensures that anticipated health care needs of members at mobilization installations can be met. Requires the Secretary of a military department, with respect to such a mobilization, to identify and analyze the anticipated health care needs of members before their arrival. Requires the policy established under this section to be implemented on a uniform basis throughout DOD.
(Sec. 738) Requires the Secretary to ensure full implementation among the military departments of the: (1) Medical Readiness Tracking and Health Surveillance Program (as created under this title); and (2) Force Health Protection and Readiness Program.
(Sec. 739) Directs the Secretary to: (1) report annually to the defense committees on DOD's Force Health Protection Quality Assurance Program; and (2) issue annually a report on the compliance by military departments with applicable policies on the recording of health assessment data in military personnel records. Requires the Chief Information Officer of each military department to ensure that the online portal website of that department includes specified health assessment information for its members.
Title VIII: Acquisition Policy, Acquisition Management, and Related Matters - Subtitle A: Acquisition Policy and Management - (Sec. 801) Requires software-related program costs to be included in currently-required quarterly unit cost reports for major defense acquisition programs.
(Sec. 802) Requires the Inspectors General of DOD and the General Services Administration (GSA) to jointly: (1) review policies, procedures, and internal controls of each GSA Client Support Center; and (2) determine whether such Center is compliant with defense procurement requirements or made significant progress in 2004 towards becoming compliant. Limits DOD procurements through a Support Center found not to be compliant or having made such progress. Provides a procurement limitation exception when found necessary in the interests of DOD. Terminates such limitation when a Center becomes compliant.
(Sec. 803) Directs the Secretary to: (1) review all potential mechanisms for procuring commercial satellite services and provide guidance therein to the Director of the Defense Information Systems Agency and the Secretaries of the military departments; and (2) report review results to Congress.
(Sec. 804) Authorizes the head of a defense agency to contract for the performance of acquisition functions closely associated with inherently governmental functions only if the Secretary determines that: (1) the appropriate military or civilian personnel of DOD cannot perform the functions; (2) such personnel are to supervise contractor performance and perform all inherently governmental functions under the contract; and (3) the agency addresses any potential organizational conflict of interest of the contractor in the performance of the functions.
(Sec. 805) Directs the Secretary to require that, whenever a new major defense acquisition program (MDAP) begins development, the defense acquisition authority responsible for that program shall develop a plan, to be known as the sustainment plan, for the existing system that the system under development is intended to replace. Makes plan requirements inapplicable to an MDAP that reaches initial operational capability before October 1, 2008. Outlines plan requirements, including a milestone schedule for the new MDAP and certain analyses of the existing system. Provides MDAP exceptions to such plan requirements. Allows the Secretary to waive any of the above requirements in order to meet national security objectives.
(Sec. 806) Allows members of the National Guard performing certain additional support duties in a State to receive financial assistance when such duties were contracted for under other-than-competitive procedures.
(Sec. 807) Amends the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act to direct the Federal Acquisition Regulation Council to adjust for inflation the dollar thresholds under Federal procurement law in order to maintain the constant dollar value of the threshold. Establishes a petition process for thresholds omitted by the Council.
Subtitle B: Amendments to General Contracting Authorities, Procedures, and Limitations - (Sec. 811) Amends the Bob Stump NDAA for Fiscal Year 2003 to authorize the Secretary to rapidly acquire equipment needed to eliminate a combat capability deficiency that has resulted in combat fatalities, with a goal of awarding a contract for the acquisition of such equipment within 15 days after the Secretary's determination of need. Prohibits such acquisition in an amount more than $100 million in a fiscal year. Requires the Secretary to notify the defense and appropriations committees within 15 days after each use of such authority. Authorizes the waiver of certain conflicting statutes and regulations.
(Sec. 812) Removes the requirement that only employees within GS-13 or above may be selected for a position in the Acquisition Corps of a military department. Includes for the Secretary, in designating critical acquisition positions in DOD, the same personnel positions that the Secretaries of other Federal departments and agencies are required to designate as critical acquisition positions. Requires the Secretary, with respect to any scholarship program conducted in connection with the employment of a person in a critical position, to enter into an agreement that sets forth scholarship terms and conditions.
(Sec. 813) Authorizes a five-year DOD multiyear task and delivery order contract to be extended for one or more successive periods, but prohibits the total period from exceeding ten years unless the head of an agency determines in writing that exceptional circumstances necessitate a longer period. Requires an annual report from the Secretary to Congress, after the end of FY 2005 through 2009, concerning each contract that was extended to a total of more than ten years.
(Sec. 814) Directs the head of the agency concerned, with respect to proposed multiyear defense procurement or services contracts, to provide written notification to the defense and appropriations committees if the budget for the contract does not include proposed funding up to the contract cancellation ceiling.
(Sec. 815) Increases from: (1) $50 million to $75 million the threshold for requiring approval of the senior procurement executive on the use of DOD procurement procedures other than competitive procedures; and (2) $500,000 to $1 million the threshold for requiring defense contractors to provide specified employee information to certain cooperative agreement organizations.
(Sec. 817) Amends the Clinger-Cohen Act to extend through 2007 the authority for the use of simplified acquisition procedures in the purchase of commercial items valued at $5 million or less.
(Sec. 818) States that current exceptions to the required submission of certain cost or pricing data by defense contractors shall not apply (thereby requiring such submission) to cost or pricing data on noncommercial modifications of a commercial item that are expected to cost, in the aggregate, more than $500,000 or five percent of the total contract price, whichever is greater.
(Sec. 819) Prohibits delegation below the level of an Assistant Secretary of Defense of the authority to make certain determinations relating to payments to defense contractors for business restructuring costs expected to exceed $25 million over a five-year period.
(Sec. 820) Authorizes the Secretary to make available to United Services Organization (USO) access to GSA supplies and services through the Federal Supply Schedule.
(Sec. 821) Amends the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration Program Act of 1988 to include landscaping and pest control services industry groups as participants under the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration Program.
(Sec. 822) Amends the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act to increase the thresholds below which DOD may use streamlined acquisition procedures for purchases outside the United States in support of a contingency operation or to facilitate defense against or recovery from nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological attack against the United States.
Subtitle C: United States Defense Industrial Base Provisions - (Sec. 831) Directs the Secretary to ensure that DOD policies and practices reflect the goal of establishing an equitable trading relationship between the United States and its foreign defense trade partners, including ensuring that U.S. firms and U.S. employment in the defense sector are not disadvantaged by unilateral procurement practices by foreign governments, such as the imposition by such governments of offset agreements in a manner that undermines the U.S. defense industrial base. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a comprehensive defense acquisition trade policy; and (2) review and modify existing acquisition policies and strategies in order to eliminate any adverse effects of such offset agreements.
(Sec. 832) Directs the Secretary to delay the phase-out of the restriction on acquisition of polyacrylonitrile carbon fiber from foreign sources until 30 days after the Secretary submits to the defense committees an assessment of the domestic and international industrial structure that produces such fibers, as well as product market trends.
Subtitle D: Extensions of Temporary Program Authorities - (Sec. 841) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 1991 to extend through FY 2013 the mentor-protege program. Directs the Secretary to review, and report to the defense committees on, program implementation.
(Sec. 842) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 1991 to include for participation in the mentor-protege program: (1) a small business owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans; and (2) a qualified HUBZone (heavily underutilized business zone) small business.
(Sec. 843) Amends the NDAA for: (1) Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991 to extend, through FY 2010, a test program for the negotiation of comprehensive small business subcontracting plans; and (2) Fiscal Year 1998 to extend, through FY 2009, a pilot program on the sale of manufactured articles and services of certain Army industrial facilities.
Subtitle E: Other Acquisition Matters - (Sec. 851) Directs the Secretary to: (1) review DOD policies, procedures, practices, and penalties relating to employees of defense contractors for purposes of ensuring DOD compliance with a specified executive order which prohibits entering into contracts with contractors not in compliance with the Immigration and Nationality Act; (2) conduct a demonstration project for promoting greater contracting opportunities for contractors who are in compliance with such Act; and (3) report to the defense committees a review of the demonstration project, together with appropriate recommendations on ensuring compliance with such executive order.
(Sec. 852) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004 to make certain Federal budgetary requirements inapplicable to a DOD settlement of a financial account for a contract for the procurement of property or services which is made under special temporary contract closeout authority.
(Sec. 853) Makes provisions of the Randolph-Sheppard Act (requirements concerning the operation of vending facilities by the blind in Federal buildings) inapplicable to any military dining (mess) facility.
(Sec. 854) Prohibits an agency head from procuring goods or services through a contract entered into by an agency outside of DOD for an amount greater than the simplified acquisition threshold unless the procurement is done under agency procedures for reviewing and approving the use of such contracts. Makes this section inapplicable to procurement contracts for certain services, including: (1) printing, binding, or blank-book work; and (2) services under programs of the Library of Congress Fiscal Operations Improvement Act of 2000. Requires each procuring agency head, for FY 2005 and 2006, to report to the Secretary on service charges imposed on purchases made for an amount greater than the simplified acquisition threshold through a contract entered into by an agency outside of DOD.
(Sec. 855) Requires the Secretary of the Air Force, in the selection of a provider of integrated support for the aerial refueling aircraft fleet, to: (1) perform analyses of alternatives of using Federal Government or private contractor personnel to provide such support; and (2) select the appropriate provider in accordance with requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act.
Title IX: Department of Defense Organization and Management - Subtitle A: Duties and Functions of Department of Defense - (Sec. 901) Directs the Secretary to: (1) study the roles and authorities of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering; and (2) report study results to the defense committees.
(Sec. 902) Includes the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy within the membership of the Nuclear Weapons Council.
Subtitle B: Space Activities - (Sec. 911) Requires the Secretary to: (1) conduct a comprehensive review of the U.S. space posture over the posture review period (the period beginning one year after the enactment of this Act and ending ten years thereafter); and (2) report review results to the defense and intelligence committees.
(Sec. 912) Directs the Secretary to contract with a federally funded research and development center to establish a panel on the future national security space launch requirements of the United States, including means of meeting such requirements. Requires the panel to report results to the Secretary and the defense, appropriations, and intelligence committees. Terminates the panel 16 months after its first meeting. Provides funding.
(Sec. 913) Requires the Secretary to ensure that operationally responsive national security payloads and buses of DOD for space satellite services are planned, programmed, and budgeted for as a separate, dedicated DOD program element. Directs the Secretary to assign management authority for such program element to the Director of the Office of Force Transformation.
(Sec. 914) Makes Federal disclosure requirements under the Freedom of Information Act inapplicable with respect to land remote sensing information collected by the United States, including any such information provided to a State, local, or tribal government. Requires the head of each agency having or supplying such information to such a government to take all necessary steps to protect such information from public disclosure.
Subtitle C: Intelligence-Related Matters - (Sec. 921) Extends through 2006 (currently, 2004) the authority of the Secretary to engage in commercial activities as security (cover) for intelligence collection activities abroad.
(Sec. 922) Authorizes the Director of the National Security Agency to carry out, for up to six years after the enactment of this Act, a pilot program on cryptologic service training for the intelligence community.
Subtitle D: Other Matters - (Sec. 931) Amends the Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1986 to require the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics and the Secretary of the Army to jointly prepare, and from time to time update, a strategic plan for future activities for destruction of the U.S. stockpile of lethal chemical agents and munitions. Requires the Secretary of Defense to annually submit to the defense committees the most recently updated plan.
(Sec. 932) Directs the Secretary to establish criteria for determining the types of critical information required to be made known expeditiously to senior decision-makers in DOD, including requirements for the transmission of such information to such senior civilian and military DOD officials as the Secretary considers appropriate.
Title X: General Provisions - Subtitle A: Financial Matters - (Sec. 1001) Authorizes the Secretary to transfer up to $3.5 billion of the amounts made available to DOD in this Division for FY 2005 between any such authorizations for that fiscal year, with limitations. Requires congressional notification of each transfer.
(Sec. 1002) Provides a new limitation on the total amount authorized to be contributed by the Secretary in FY 2005 for the common-funded budgets of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (rather than the maximum amount otherwise applicable under the 1998 baseline limitation). Allocates for such purpose amounts authorized under titles II and III of this Act.
(Sec. 1003) Requires that, in any case in which the amount requested in the President's budget for a fiscal year for a DOD O&M program, project, or activity is different from the amount appropriated for that program, project, or activity, the O&M justification documents supporting that budget shall identify the appropriated amount and the difference between that amount and the amount requested. Requires separate O&M budget justification with respect to Navy subactivities for ship depot maintenance and for intermediate ship maintenance. Directs the Secretary to report to the defense and appropriations committees setting forth component elements of "Other Costs" and "Other Contracts" as set forth in the FY 2006 budget justification documents.
(Sec. 1004) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to license trademarks, service marks, certification marks, and collective marks owned or controlled by such Secretary and to expend such fees for trademark and licensing costs.
(Sec. 1005) Repeals funding restrictions concerning the development of medical countermeasures against biological warfare threats.
(Sec. 1006) Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense committees on the foreign currency exchange rate projection used in annual DOD budget presentations. Requires the CG to review such report and submit review results to the defense committees.
(Sec. 1007) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004 to increase from $2.5 billion to $2.8 billion the amount that the Secretary, in the national interest, may transfer between any DOD authorizations for that fiscal year.
(Sec. 1008) Provides the FY 2004 funding level to be utilized by the Secretary of Commerce with respect to a National Institute of Standards and Technology account for industrial technology services.
(Sec. 1009) Prohibits transfers out of a working capital fund, or between or among such funds, unless the Secretary has notified the defense and appropriations committees.
(Sec. 1010) Authorizes the Secretary to charge fees for providing information in the Federal Logistics Information System through Defense Logistics Information Services to a department or agency outside of DOD, or to a State, political subdivision of a State, or any person.
Subtitle B: Naval Vessels and Shipyards - (Sec. 1011) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to award contracts for the dismantling of vessels stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on a net-cost basis. Allows contractors to retain proceeds from the sale of scrap and reusable equipment from such vessels.
(Sec. 1012) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy, in acquiring Navy service craft and boats, to exchange or sell similar but obsolete Navy service craft and boats and to apply the proceeds received to the acquisition price.
(Sec. 1013) Authorizes the President to transfer: (1) on a grant basis the destroyer O'BANNON to the Government of Chile and the guided missile frigate GEORGE PHILIP to the Government of Portugal; and (2) on a sale basis the destroyer FLETCHER to the Government of Chile and the dock landing ship ANCHORAGE to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States. Prohibits the vessels transferred on a grant basis from counting against the aggregate value limit of excess defense articles transferred in a fiscal year under provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Requires: (1) all costs of transfers made on a grant basis to be borne by the recipients; and (2) any pre-transfer vessel repair or refurbishment to be performed at a U.S. shipyard, including a Navy shipyard. Terminates the vessel transfer authority two years after enactment of this Act.
(Sec. 1014) Directs the Secretary to provide for an independent study of the cost effectiveness of the Navy ship construction program. Requires the study to address near term improvements in construction efficiency. Directs the: (1) study group to propose a U.S. shipbuilding infrastructure modernization plan; and (2) Secretary to report study results to the defense and appropriations committees.
(Sec. 1015) Prohibits the Secretary of the Navy from disposing of the decommissioned destroyer ex-Edson before October 1, 2007, to an entity that is not a nonprofit organization unless such Secretary first determines that there is no available nonprofit organization that meets the criteria for such donation.
Subtitle C: Counterdrug Matters - (Sec. 1021) Authorizes the Secretary, during FY 2005 and 2006, to use funds made available to DOD for drug interdiction and counter-drug activities to provide assistance to the Government of Colombia to: (1) support a unified campaign against narcotics trafficking; (2) support a unified campaign against activities by designated terrorist organizations; and (3) take actions to protect human health and welfare in emergency situations, including undertaking rescue operations. Provides limitations on the number of U.S. personnel assigned to Colombia during such fiscal years in support of Plan Colombia. Prohibits any U.S. Armed Forces, civilian employee, or civilian contractor personnel stationed or employed in Colombia from participating in any combat operations in connection with such assistance, except in self-defense or rescue operations. Requires a report from the Secretary of State on relationships between terrorist organizations in Colombia and foreign governments or organizations.
(Sec. 1022) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the President should make the substantial reduction of illegal drug trafficking in Afghanistan a priority in the Global War on Terrorism; (2) the Secretary should expand cooperation with the Government of Afghanistan and international organizations involved in counter-drug activities to assist in providing a secure environment for counter-drug personnel in Afghanistan; and (3) the United States should undertake additional efforts to reduce illegal drug trafficking and related activities that provide financial support for terrorist organizations in Afghanistan and neighboring countries. Requires a joint report from the Secretaries of Defense and State to Congress on: (1) progress made toward substantially reducing poppy cultivation and heroin production capabilities in Afghanistan; and (2) the extent to which profits from illegal drug activity in Afghanistan are used to financially support terrorist organizations and groups seeking to undermine the Government of Afghanistan.
Subtitle D: Matters Relating to Museums and Commemorations - (Sec. 1031) Recognizes the Liberty Memorial Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, as America's National World War I Museum.
(Sec. 1032) Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a program to: (1) commemorate the 60th anniversary of World War II; and (2) coordinate, support, and facilitate other such programs of the Federal Government, State and local governments, and other persons. Establishes the Department of Defense 60th Anniversary of World War II Commemoration Account for funding such activities. Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense committees on Account expenditures. Authorizes the Secretary to accept voluntary services in furtherance of the program.
(Sec. 1033) Requires an annual report from the Secretary to Congress on DOD operations and financial support for military museums.
Subtitle E: Reports - (Sec. 1041) Requires quarterly reports from the Secretary to the defense and appropriations committees containing a detailed accounting of costs incurred for operations of the Global War on Terrorism.
(Sec. 1042) Requires the Secretary to report to the defense and appropriations committees on the conduct of military operations during the post-major combat operations phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
(Sec. 1043) Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a study of the extent to which members assigned to duty in support of contingency operations receive training in preparation for post-conflict operations, and to evaluate the quality of such training; and (2) report study results to the defense committees.
(Sec. 1044) Directs the Secretary to report to the defense and appropriations committees on the need for one or more national centers of excellence for unmanned aerial and ground vehicles.
(Sec. 1045) Directs the Secretary to: (1) study whether the practice of using two alternating crews for the manning of ballistic missile submarines continues to be justified under changed circumstances since the end of the Cold War; (2) determine whether such practice should be continued, modified, or terminated; and (3) report such determination to the defense committees.
(Sec. 1046) Directs the Secretary to assess, and report to Congress on, DOD programs for the prepositioning of materiel and equipment.
(Sec. 1047) Directs the Secretary to report to the defense committees on the activities of al Qaeda and associated groups in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Subtitle F: Defense Against Terrorism and Other Domestic Security Matters - (Sec. 1051) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to accept: (1) communications equipment for use in coordinating joint response and recovery operations with public safety agencies in the event of a disaster; and (2) services related to the operation and maintenance of such equipment.
(Sec. 1052) Directs the Secretary to: (1) determine the feasibility and advisability of dedicating an airlift capability of the Armed Forces on a full-time basis to the support of any homeland defense operations; (2) conduct a study of DOD plans and capabilities for meeting contingent requirements for transporting emergency response teams and packages to disasters; and (3) report study results to the defense committees.
(Sec. 1053) Requires the Secretary to submit to the defense committees a plan setting forth a systematic approach for ensuring the survivability of defense critical systems upon contamination by chemical or biological agents.
Subtitle G: Personnel Security Matters - (Sec. 1061) Authorizes individuals conducting personnel security investigations for Federal employment and access to national security information to request the chief driver licensing official of a State to obtain the use of the National Driver Register for an individual's driver information. Limits: (1) the scope of such request to employment for which national security access is required; and (2) the use of employee information received by a Federal department or agency to uses in conjunction with an authorized investigation.
(Sec. 1062) Authorizes (current law prohibits) delegation of decisions on the granting of meritorious security-clearance waivers for certain otherwise prohibited individuals. Allows waivers to be granted only under authority of an executive order or other guidance issued by the President.
Subtitle H: Transportation-Related Matters - (Sec. 1071) Authorizes the Secretary, under specified circumstances, to use military aircraft to transport mail and parcels to, from, and between overseas locations.
(Sec. 1072) Reorganizes certain Federal Armed Forces provisions relating to the control and supervision of transportation within DOD. Empowers the Secretary (currently, the appropriate department Secretary) with authority over all such transportation. Repeals contrary Federal laws.
(Sec. 1073) Directs the Secretary to: (1) evaluate DOD procurement practices in the award of service contracts for domestic freight transportation for security-sensitive cargo to determine whether such practices are in the best interests of DOD; and (2) report evaluation results to the defense committees.
Subtitle I: Other Matters - (Sec. 1081) Provides liability protection for persons providing voluntary maritime-related services on behalf of DOD.
(Sec. 1082) Expresses the sense of Congress that the DOD policy restricting media coverage of the transfer of the remains of deceased members of the Armed Forces appropriately protects the privacy of the members' families and friends and is consistent with U.S. constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
(Sec. 1083) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to convey to a named individual all U.S. rights and interest to a F3A-1 Brewster Corsair aircraft.
(Sec. 1084) Makes various technical and clerical amendments under Federal armed forces provisions.
(Sec. 1085) Prohibits the Secretary from reducing or eliminating search and rescue capabilities at any military installation in the United States unless the Secretary first certifies to the defense committees that equivalent search and rescue will be provided without interruption and with the policies and objectives set forth in the United States National Search and Rescue Plan entered into force on January 1, 1999.
(Sec. 1086) Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to purchase ten aircraft for the National Interagency Fire Center for use in aerial firefighting. Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 1087) Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education, in considering assurances made by an institution that it is an Hispanic-serving institution of higher education, to consider such assurances as meeting the Hispanic-serving requirements unless the Secretary determines, based on a preponderance of the evidence, that such assurances do not meet the requirements.
(Sec. 1088) Amends the Federal criminal code to include within military extraterritorial jurisdiction a civilian or contractor employee of any Federal agency or provisional authority to the extent such employment relates to the support of DOD missions overseas.
(Sec. 1090) Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to: (1) extend through FY 2005 the authority of Federal agencies to enter into contracts for energy savings and conservation; and (2) include water and wastewater treatment and water conservation measures within the definitions and purposes of energy savings and energy savings contracts under such Act. Directs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) complete a review of the Energy Savings Performance Contract to identify obstacles that prevent Federal agencies from fully utilizing the program; and (2) report review results to Congress. Validates any Federal energy savings contract entered into between October 1, 2003 (the previous termination date) and the date of enactment of this Act.
(Sec. 1091) Expresses the sense of Congress that, among other things: (1) the abuses inflicted upon detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, Iraq, are inconsistent with the professionalism and training required of the U.S. military; (2) the abuse of persons in U.S. custody in Iraq is condemned and deplored by the American people; and (3) no detainee shall be subject to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment that is prohibited by the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States.
(Sec. 1092) Directs the Secretary to: (1) ensure that policies are prescribed regarding procedures for DOD and DOD contractor personnel to treat persons detained by the U.S. Government in a humane manner consistent with international obligations (such as the Geneva Conventions) and U.S. laws; and (2) certify that all Federal employees and civilian contractors engaged in the interrogation of individuals have fulfilled an annual training requirement on the law of war, the Geneva Conventions, and U.S. obligations under international law.
(Sec. 1093) Requires specified reports from the Secretary to the defense committees on regulations, policies, and orders adopted, along with other steps taken, to implement the requirements of the previous two sections concerning the humane U.S. treatment of detainees.
(Sec. 1094) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Secretary should make every protection available to Army Specialist Joseph Darby (who alerted his superiors of prisoner abuses at Abu Ghraib prison) and others who demonstrate such courage; and (2) Joseph Darby should be appropriately commended by the Secretary of the Army.
Title XI: Civilian Personnel Matters - (Sec. 1101) Provides for the continuation of Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) coverage for up to 24 months for a Federal employee who is: (1) currently enrolled in the FEHBP; and (2) as a member of the reserves, called or ordered to active duty in support of a contingency operation and serves on such duty for more than 30 consecutive days.
(Sec. 1102) Revises Federal provisions which authorize the Secretary to pay foreign language proficiency pay for a DOD employee certified as proficient in a foreign language deemed necessary for national security interests and whose duties require such proficiency to repeal the requirement that the individual perform such duties during a contingency operation.
(Sec. 1103) Makes civilian intelligence personnel pay rates equal to the rates provided for comparable positions in DOD, including Senior Executive positions. Subjects the Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service to a performance appraisal system certified by the Secretary as making meaningful distinctions based on relative performance.
(Sec. 1104) Provides for pay parity for senior executives in defense nonappropriated fund instrumentalities with the pay of DOD employees in the Senior Executive Service or other senior executive positions.
(Sec. 1105) Directs the Secretary to carry out a pilot program to provide financial assistance (scholarships) for education in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology skills and disciplines that are critical to DOD national security functions and needed in the DOD workforce. Requires: (1) a written agreement by scholarship recipients for a period of obligated service with DOD following such education; (2) recipient refunds for any unserved periods of obligated service; and (3) reporting of a plan for expanding and improving such pilot program to improve recruitment and retention and meet DOD requirements for its science and engineering workforce. Authorizes Federal agencies to appoint candidates: (1) for positions where there exists a severe shortage or there is a critical need; or (2) who participate in the scholarship program.
(Sec. 1106) Directs the Secretary to submit to the defense and intelligence committees a plan for expanding and improving the DOD national security foreign language workforce so as to improve recruitment and retention and meet DOD foreign language workforce requirements on both a short- and long-term basis.
(Sec. 1107) Requires the Under Secretaries of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics and for Personnel and Readiness to jointly: (1) develop a plan for effective utilization of their flexible personnel management authorities with respect to DOD laboratories; and (2) submit the plan to the defense committees.
Title XII: Matters Relating to Other Nations - Subtitle A: Matters Relating to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Global War on Terrorism - (Sec. 1201) Authorizes, during FY 2005, the use of up to $300 million from DOD O&M funds to provide funds for the Commanders' Emergency Response Program for enabling military commanders in Iraq to respond to urgent humanitarian relief and reconstruction requirements, and for a similar program to assist the people of Afghanistan. Requires quarterly reports from the Secretary to the defense and appropriations committees on any funds so used. Authorizes the Secretary to waive any provision of law that would prohibit, restrict, limit, or otherwise constrain the exercise of such authority. Requires the Secretary to report to the defense committees identifying any such provisions of law.
(Sec. 1202) Authorizes the Secretary to provide assistance in FY 2005 to Iraq and Afghanistan military and security forces solely to enhance their ability to combat terrorism and support U.S. or coalition military operations in such countries. Limits to $500 million the cost of such assistance. Directs the Secretary to notify the defense and appropriations committees at least 15 days in advance of such assistance.
(Sec. 1203) Amends the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense and Reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, 2004 to redesignate the Inspector General of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) as the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIG). Replaces references to: (1) the heads of the CPA with the Secretaries of State and Defense; and (2) the CPA with the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund. Requires the SIG to coordinate with, and receive the cooperation of, the inspectors general for DOD, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the State Department. Revises due dates for certain reports required from the SIG. Revises the date for termination of the Office of the SIG.
(Sec. 1204) Sets forth reporting requirements concerning the strategy of the U.S. and coalition forces for stabilizing Iraq.
(Sec. 1205) Directs the Secretary to: (1) issue guidance on the management of contractors that support deployed forces; and (2) direct the Secretaries of the military departments to develop procedures to ensure implementation of the guidance. Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense committees after the issuance of such guidance.
(Sec. 1206) Directs the Secretary to report to the defense committees on contractors supporting deployed forces and reconstruction efforts in Iraq.
(Sec. 1207) Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State should seek to conclude a memorandum of understanding with the Interim Government of Iraq to ensure U.S. access to all documents in their possession related to the United Nations (UN) Oil-for-Food Program. Requires such Secretary to urge the UN Secretary General to provide all audits and core documents relating to such Program. Expresses the sense of Congress that the CG have complete access to financial information relating to the UN, including information concerning such Program. Directs the CG to conduct a review of such Program.
(Sec. 1208) Authorizes the Secretary to expend up to $25 million in each of FY 2005 through 2007 to provide support to foreign forces, irregular forces, groups, or individuals engaged in supporting or facilitating ongoing military operations by U.S. special operations forces to combat terrorism. Requires an annual report on the support provided.
Subtitle B: Counterproliferation Matters - (Sec. 1211) Amends the Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1996 to authorize the Secretary to carry out certain counterproliferation training programs in a country in which the Secretary determines that there exists a significant threat of the unauthorized transfer and transportation of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons or related materials.
(Sec. 1212) Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States: (1) should vigorously pursue initiatives aimed at eliminating, reducing, or retarding the proliferation of ballistic missiles and related technologies; and (2) and the international community should continue to support and strengthen established international accords and efforts designed toward such elimination, reduction, or retardation.
(Sec. 1213) Commends the President for steps taken to continue support for the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Nuclear Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction, and using the Partnership to coordinate nonproliferation projects in Libya, Iraq, and other countries. Urges the President to undertake specified activities to further Partnership efforts.
(Sec. 1214) Requires a report from the Secretary to Congress on the collaborative measures that the United States and the Russian Federation could take to reduce the risks that a nuclear ballistic missile could be launched as the result of an accident, misinformation, miscalculation, or unauthorized use.
Subtitle C: Other Matters - (Sec. 1221) Extends the authority of members of the Armed Forces to provide, as humanitarian assistance, the detection and clearance in a foreign country of landmines to include the detection and clearance of other explosive remnants of war.
(Sec. 1222) Amends the Thurmond Act to expand the definition of a "Communist Chinese military company" for purposes of being subject, while operating in the United States, to certain presidential authorities under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
(Sec. 1223) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to conduct a program under which members of the naval service of any of the member nations of NATO may be assigned to U.S. commands to work on submarine vessel safety and rescue systems and procedures. Limits the costs payable for such personnel. Terminates program authority at the end of FY 2008.
(Sec. 1224) Makes certain DOD O&M funds available in FY 2005 for the participation of new NATO member nations (Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia) in the exercises and programs of NATO's Partnership for Peace program.
(Sec. 1225) Requires the Secretary of State to expeditiously process any application for the export of defense items to the Governments of Australia and the United Kingdom without referral to any other Federal department or agency, except when the item is classified or when exceptional circumstances apply.
(Sec. 1226) Directs the Secretary to: (1) study the advisability and feasibility of establishing procedures for streamlining the export licensing review process for missile defense items and for providing major project authorizations for programs related to missile defense; and (2) report study results to the defense and foreign relations committees.
Title XIII: Cooperative Threat Reduction With States of the Former Soviet Union - (Sec. 1301) Specifies the cooperative threat reduction (CTR) programs to be funded through O&M funds provided under this Act. Makes funds appropriated for such purposes available for three years. Allocates such funds among specified CTR programs. Prohibits such funds from being used for purposes other than those specified until 30 days after the Secretary reports to Congress on the new purposes. Provides limited authority to vary allocated amounts in the national interest, after congressional notification.
(Sec. 1303) Extends through 2006 the authority of the President to waive certain preconditions established under the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2000 with respect to funding for a chemical weapons destruction facility in Russia if the President certifies to Congress why the waiver is important to U.S. national security interests.
(Sec. 1304) Amends the Strom Thurmond NDAA for Fiscal Year 1999 to require the inclusion in annual DOD budget justification materials of certain descriptive summaries of CTR programs, projects, activities, and assistance.
Title XIV: Sunken Military Craft - (Sec. 1401) Mandates that any right, title, and interest of the United States in and to any U.S. sunken military craft shall not be extinguished by the passage of time, regardless of when the craft sank.
(Sec. 1402) Prohibits any person from engaging, or attempting to engage, in any activity directed at a sunken military craft that disturbs, removes, or injures any such craft, except as authorized by a permit under this title, regulations issued under this title, or otherwise by law. Provides limitations and exceptions.
(Sec. 1403) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to issue permits with respect to such activity for archaeological, historical, or educational purposes. Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to carry out this section with respect to any foreign sunken military craft located in U.S. waters.
(Sec. 1404) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to assess a civil penalty of up to $100,000 for each violation of this title.
(Sec. 1405) Provides liability for damages caused in violation of this title.
(Sec. 1407) Encourages the Secretary of State to negotiate and conclude bilateral and multilateral agreements with foreign countries with regard to sunken military aircraft consistent with this title.
Title XV: Authorization for Increased Costs Due to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom - (Sec. 1501) Authorizes appropriations, for additional costs due to Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, for FY 2005 for: (1) the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, and Air Force for aircraft, missiles, weapons and tracked combat vehicles, ammunition, National Guard and reserve equipment, and for other procurement; (2) defense-wide procurement; (3) O&M; (4) the Defense Working Capital Program; (5) the Iraq Freedom Fund; (6) the Defense Health Program; and (7) military personnel.
(Sec. 1511) Authorizes the Secretary, in the national interest, to transfer up to $1.5 billion of the amounts made available to DOD in this title for FY 2005 between any such authorizations for that fiscal year, with limitations. Requires congressional notification of each transfer.
Division B: Military Construction Authorizations - Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 - Title XXI [sic]: Army - (Sec. 2101) 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 such Secretary to construct or acquire family housing units, carry out architectural planning and design activities, and improve existing military family housing in specified amounts. Authorizes appropriations to the Army for fiscal years after 2004 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. 2105) Amends the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year: (1) 2004 to increase the amounts authorized for military construction projects at Fort Stewart, Georgia, and Fort Drum, New York; and (2) 2003 to increase the amount authorized for a project at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
Title XXII: Navy - (Sec. 2201) Provides, with respect to the Navy, authorizations paralleling those provided for the Army under the previous title.
Title XXIII: Air Force - (Sec. 2301) Provides, with respect to the Air Force, authorizations paralleling those provided for the Army under title XXI.
Title XXIV: Defense Agencies - (Sec. 2401) 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 improve existing military family housing units and carry out certain energy conservation projects. Authorizes appropriations to DOD for fiscal years after 2004 for military construction, land acquisition, and military family housing functions of DOD. Limits the total cost of construction projects authorized by this title.
Title XXV: North Atlantic Treaty Organization Security Investment Program - (Sec. 2501) Authorizes the Secretary to make contributions for the NATO Security Investment Program and authorizes appropriations for fiscal years after 2004 for such Program.
Title XXVI: Guard and Reserve Forces Facilities - (Sec. 2601) Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years after 2004 for National Guard and reserve forces for acquisition, architectural and engineering services, and construction of facilities.
Title XXVII: Expiration and Extension of Authorizations - (Sec. 2701) Terminates all authorizations contained in titles XXI through XXVI of this Act on October 1, 2007, or the date of enactment of an Act authorizing funds for military construction for FY 2008, whichever is later, with exceptions. Extends certain prior-year military construction projects.
Title XXVIII: General Provisions - Subtitle A: Military Construction Program and Military Family Housing Changes - (Sec. 2801) Increases from $5 million to $7.5 million the threshold for minor military construction projects before approval is required by the Secretary concerned. Decreases from $10 million to $7.5 million the threshold at which congressional notification is required for the use of O&M funds for military facility repairs.
(Sec. 2802) Requires annual reports from the Secretary identifying general or flag officer quarters for which total operation, maintenance, and repair costs are expected to exceed $35,000 for the next fiscal year. Directs the Secretary concerned, with respect to each such unit under their jurisdiction, to submit to the defense and appropriations committees at least 21 days in advance a justification of the need for the maintenance or repair project and an estimate of its cost. Directs the Secretary to report to such committees: (1) an analysis of anticipated needs in the National Capital Region for family housing units for general and flag officers; and (2) a worldwide inventory of units used, or intended for use, for such officers, and the annual expenditures for FY 2002-2004 for O&M, utilities, leases, and repairs of such units.
(Sec. 2803) Decreases from 21 to 14 days, if provided in an electronic format, the required prior congressional notification of deviations from authorized cost variations for military construction and family housing projects.
(Sec. 2804) Directs the Secretary to develop common guidance and criteria to be used by the Secretary concerned to: (1) assess the vulnerability of U.S. military installations to terrorist attack; (2) develop construction standards designed to reduce such vulnerability; (3) prepare and carry out military construction projects, such as gate and fenceline construction, to improve the physical security of such installations; and (4) assist in prioritizing such projects within the military construction budget of that department. Requires: (1) vulnerability assessments to be conducted at regular intervals; and (2) the Secretary to include certain information with respect to such assessments within annual DOD budget justification materials submitted to Congress. Requires the Secretary to certify that, since September 11, 2001, assessments regarding the vulnerability of military installations to terrorist attacks have been undertaken for all major military installations.
(Sec. 2805) Repeals: (1) certain limitations on the use of alternative authority for the acquisition or construction of military housing; and (2) the authority to enter into a contract for such acquisition or construction.
(Sec. 2806) Provides additional reporting requirements with respect to alternative authority for the acquisition or improvement of military housing.
(Sec. 2807) Authorizes the Secretary concerned, through FY 2007, to accelerate design efforts for military construction projects using design-build (two-phase) selection procedures. Directs the Secretary to report to the defense and appropriations committees on the usefulness of such authority in expediting the design and construction of such projects.
(Sec. 2808) Revises notification thresholds and other requirements with respect to expenditures or contributions for the acquisition of reserve facilities, including the authority to carry out small projects using O&M funds.
(Sec. 2809) Allows the Secretary to authorize each department Secretary to acquire a facility (or facility addition) needed to satisfy military requirements for a reserve component by carrying out an exchange of an existing facility through an agreement with a State, local government, local authority, or private entity. Requires equal value exchanges. Provides minimum requirements for replacement facilities. Requires 30 days' advance notification to the defense committees prior to entering into any such agreement. Provides temporary authority to include cash equalization payments as part of any such exchange (requiring a report from the Secretary to such committees on any such payments).
(Sec. 2810) Amends the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 to extend through FY 2005 the limited authority to use O&M funds for military construction projects outside the United States. Allows such extension only if all quarterly reports concerning such projects originally required for FY 2004 in such Act are submitted to the appropriate congressional committees.
(Sec. 2811) Requires the Secretary, when considering any military project for the construction of a new medical treatment facility in the United States or a U.S. territory or possession, to consult with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs regarding the feasibility of carrying out a joint project to construct a facility that serves as a health-resources sharing facility between the two departments. Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to undertake the same consultation with respect to a possible Department of Veterans Affairs facility.
Subtitle B: Real Property and Facilities Administration - (Sec. 2821) Consolidates and reorganizes existing provisions relating to DOD real property transactions and the use of DOD facilities.
(Sec. 2822) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to enter into an agreement with the Army Historical Foundation for the design, construction, and operation of a facility or group of facilities at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, for the National Museum of the United States Army. Authorizes the Commander of the United States Army Center of Military History to accept gifts and bequests valued at up to $250,000 for the benefit of the Museum or the Center.
(Sec. 2823) Provides that if real property owned by the United States and used as a Navy homeport is subject to a reversionary interest of any kind, the Secretary of the Navy may enter into an agreement with the holder to acquire the reversionary interest with in-kind consideration, and thereby clear U.S. title to the property. Prohibits cash payments for the acquisition of such reversionary interests.
Subtitle C: Base Closure and Realignment - (Sec. 2831) Establishes March 15 of the base closure round year as the final deadline for revision of the force structure plan or infrastructure inventory.
(Sec. 2832) Outlines the final selection criteria to be used by the Secretary in making recommendations for the closure or realignment of military installations inside the United States during the next base closure round, including: (1) current and future mission capabilities and the impact on operational readiness of the total force of DOD; (2) the availability and condition of land, facilities, and associated air and water space at both existing and potential receiving locations; and (3) the ability to accommodate contingency, mobilization, surge, and future total force requirements at both existing and potential receiving locations. Requires the Secretary, in making recommendations for base closures or realignments, to give priority to the above criteria. Allows only such final selection criteria to be used in making recommendations for closures or realignments inside the United States in 2005.
(Sec. 2833) Amends the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 to repeal the authority of the Secretary to recommend that installations be placed in inactive status (and therefore protected from closure or realignment) during a round of base closures and realignments.
(Sec. 2834) Requires the consent of at least seven commissioners of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission in order to recommend the closure or realignment of an installation not recommended by the Secretary for closure or realignment.
Subtitle D: Land Conveyances - Part I: Army Conveyances - (Sec. 2841) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to convey to: (1) an entity selected by the Board of Commissioners of Johnson County, Kansas, the Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant in Kansas, for economic development and revitalization; (2) Bi-County Solid Waste Management System a portion of Fort Campbell, Tennessee, to permit BI-County to expand a landfill facility; (3) the State of Louisiana a portion of the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant in Doyline, Louisiana, for military training purposes; and (4) the State of Missouri a portion of Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, for the establishment of a State-operated veterans' cemetery.
(Sec. 2845) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to transfer to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs administrative jurisdiction over a portion of the Defense Supply Center in Columbus, Ohio, for use as a new outpatient clinic for veterans' medical services.
(Sec. 2846) Deems various parcels of real property within the boundaries of Umatilla Chemical Depot, Oregon, no longer suitable for return to the public domain, and transfers such parcels to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Army for purposes of management and disposal under the base closure laws.
(Sec. 2847) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1999 to authorize the Secretary of the Army to convey to the city of Charleston, South Carolina (previously the conveyance was authorized, but there was no named recipient) the property known as the Equipment and Storage Yard on Meeting Street in Charleston.
(Sec. 2848) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to convey to: (1) the Texas A&M University System of the State of Texas a portion of Fort Hood, Texas, for an upper level, State-supported university; (2) the State of Utah a parcel of real property at the Browning Army Reserve Center, Utah, for construction and operation of a veterans' nursing care facility; (3) the Hampton City School Board, Virginia, the Butler Farm Army Reserve Center, Virginia, for public education purposes; and (4) the State of Washington a portion of the National Guard Facility, Pier 91, Washington, for enabling such State to convey the facility unencumbered for economic development purposes.
(Sec. 2851) Amends the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 to: (1) authorize the Secretary of the Army to transfer to the Secretary of the Interior, in trust for the Nisqually Tribe (current law authorizes such transfer directly to such Tribe), a specified portion of Fort Lewis, Washington; (2) increase the amount of land to be transferred; and (3) specifically preserve, after such transfer, all existing permit rights and easements held by the Bonneville Power Administration with respect to such area.
Part II: Navy Conveyances - (Sec. 2861) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to convey to the University of Miami, Florida, certain parcels of property in the vicinity of the former Richmond Naval Air Station, Florida, to facilitate force protection and security needs of DOD facilities located on such Station.
(Sec. 2862) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to convey to: (1) the city and county of Honolulu, Hawaii, a parcel of real property on Valkenberg Avenue in Honolulu, to enhance the capability of the city and county to provide fire protection and firefighting services to civilian and military properties in the area, as well as firefighter training; (2) the State of Illinois, a political subdivision of the State, or a nonprofit land conservation organization certain environmentally sensitive land at the former Fort Sheridan, Illinois, for the purpose of ensuring the permanent protection of such land; (3) the State of Maryland a portion of the Naval Air Station, Patuxent River, Maryland, in exchange for a parcel of real property in Point Lookout State Park, Maryland; (4) the Berkeley County Sanitation Authority, South Carolina, a portion of the Naval Weapons Station in Charleston, for the expansion of an existing sewage treatment plant; and (5) the city of Portsmouth, Virginia, the Navy YMCA Building in Portsmouth, for economic revitalization purposes.
(Sec. 2865) Amends the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 to increase the acreage that the Secretary of the Navy is authorized to acquire with respect to a land acquisition in Perquimans County, North Carolina.
Part III: Air Force Conveyances - (Sec. 2871) Authorizes the Secretary of the Air Force to convey to: (1) the city of Montgomery, Alabama, the Maxwell Heights Housing site at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, in exchange for real property contiguous to such Base; (2) the March Joint Powers Authority a parcel of real property containing the former Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office facility for March Air Force Base, California, for economic development and revitalization; and (3) the Oneida County Industrial Development Agency, New York, a portion of the former Griffiss Air Force Base, New York, for economic development purposes.
Part IV: Other Conveyances - (Sec. 2881) Authorizes the Secretary to convey to Arlington County, Virginia, a parcel of real property on the Navy Annex property, Virginia, for the construction of a freedmen heritage museum and an Arlington history museum. Amends the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 to: (1) include a certain property within a transfer of Navy Annex property for use by Arlington National Cemetery; and (2) terminate the reservation of certain Navy Annex property for use in connection with memorials or museums.
Subtitle E: Other Matters - (Sec. 2891) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 1996 to continue through FY 2005 the authority of the Secretary to carry out the Department of Defense Follow-On Laboratory Revitalization Demonstration Program.
(Sec. 2892) Designates the Airmen Leadership School at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, as the John J. Rhodes Airmen Leadership School.
(Sec. 2893) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to pay specified funds to the Oakland Base Reuse Authority and the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Oakland, California, in settlement of certain claims.
(Sec. 2894) Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on the feasibility of using Camp Ripley National Guard Training Center in Little Falls, Minnesota, as a mobilization station for reserves called or ordered to active duty.
(Sec. 2895) Directs the Secretary of the Navy to report to Congress on the possible establishment and maintenance of a veterans' memorial on the site of the former Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, California.
(Sec. 2896) Expresses the sense of Congress that DOD should: (1) consider the effects that force structure and overseas stationing arrangements will have on military housing requirements at specific installations, the number of school-aged dependents at such installations, and the need for additional educational facilities to serve those dependents; and (2) consult with local communities and educational agencies on the best way to address such changing housing and educational requirements.
(Sec. 2897) Expresses the sense of Congress that a memorial marker should be designed and placed in an appropriate place to honor individuals who, although not U.S. citizens, served in the U.S. Armed Forces and were killed in the line of duty. Requires the Secretary of the Army to conduct a study and report to Congress.
Division C: Department of Energy National Security Authorizations and Other Authorizations - Title XXXI [sic]: Department of Energy National Security Programs - Subtitle A: National Security Programs Authorizations - (Sec. 3101) Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Energy (DOE) for FY 2005 for: (1) activities of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in carrying out programs necessary for national security, with specified allocations for weapons activities, defense nuclear nonproliferation activities, naval reactors, and the Office of the Administrator for Nuclear Security (Administrator); and (2) environmental restoration and waste management activities in carrying out national security programs, with specified allocations for defense environmental management, other defense activities, and defense nuclear waste disposal.
Subtitle B: Program Authorizations, Restrictions, and Limitations - (Sec. 3111) Directs the Administrator to report to the defense and appropriations committees setting forth the validated pit production requirements for the Modern Pit Facility (pit facilities supporting nuclear weapons).
(Sec. 3112) Amends the Atomic Energy Defense Act to extend through FY 2006 DOE authority for the appointment of certain scientific, engineering, and technical personnel.
(Sec. 3113) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004 to allow new projects under the Facilities and Infrastructure Recapitalization Program after its deadline of December 31, 2004, if the Administrator approves the project. Prohibits funds from being so obligated or expended until 60 days after the Administrator submits to the defense committees a notice of the new project and related information. Limits to five the total number of projects that may be carried out in a fiscal year under such authority.
(Sec. 3114) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2002 to revise milestone and reporting requirements relating to the National Ignition Facility. Requires the Administrator to report to the defense and appropriations committees on the milestones of the Facility to achieve ignition. Extends through 2011 (currently 2004) certain modifications and reporting requirements with respect to such Facility.
(Sec. 3115) Amends the Atomic Energy Defense Act to revise the annual date of submission of a plan for the stewardship, management, and certification of warheads in the nuclear weapons stockpile.
(Sec. 3116) Excludes certain radioactive material resulting from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel from those materials stored at a DOE facility which may be regulated by the States of South Carolina and Idaho pursuant to an approved closure plan or permit. Directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to: (1) monitor DOE radioactive material disposal actions to determine compliance with requirements enumerated under this section; and (2) if determining any noncompliance, inform DOE, the appropriate State, and the defense, energy, and appropriations committees.
(Sec. 3117) Earmarks funds authorized under this title for the treatment of waste material at the following nuclear sites: (1) the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory; (2) the Savannah River site (South Carolina); and (3) the Hanford (Washington) site.
(Sec. 3118) Directs the Secretary of Energy (Secretary, for purposes of this Division) to establish for each DOE Environmental Management 2006 closure site a local stakeholder organization to: (1) solicit and encourage public participation in appropriate activities relating to the closure of the site; and (2) disseminate information on the site's closure and post-closure operations to the State, local, and tribal governments affected by the closure, as well as persons and entities having a stake therein. Requires such organization to be established at least six months before a site's closure.
(Sec. 3119) Requires the Administrator to report to the defense and appropriations committees on the planned activities of the Advanced Nuclear Weapons Concepts Initiative for FY 2005.
Subtitle C: Proliferation Matters - (Sec. 3131) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004 to repeal the $50 million fiscal year limit on the total amount of international nuclear materials protection and cooperation program funds that may be obligated or expended by the President for a defense nuclear nonproliferation project or activity outside the states of the former Soviet Union.
(Sec. 3132) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the security of fissile and radiological materials and related equipment at vulnerable sites worldwide should be a top priority for U.S. national security; and (2) the President may establish in DOE a task force (the Task Force on Nuclear Materials) to carry out a program for such purposes. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a program to undertake a worldwide effort to mitigate the threats posed by such materials at sites potentially vulnerable to theft or diversion. Outlines program elements. Requires an interim and final program report from the Secretary to Congress. Provides funding from DOE nuclear nonproliferation funds.
(Sec. 3133) Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a program, to be known as the Silk Road Initiative, to promote non-weapons-related employment opportunities in the United States and in Silk Road nations (certain independent states of the former Soviet Union) for scientists, engineers, and technicians formerly engaged in activities to develop and produce WMDs in those nations.
(Sec. 3134) Authorizes the Administrator for Nuclear Security to carry out a program under which the Administrator awards, to scientists employed at nonproliferation research laboratories of the Russian Federation and the United States, international exchange fellowships, to be known as Nuclear Nonproliferation Fellowships, in the nuclear nonproliferation sciences. Limits the duration of a fellowship to two years, unless an extension is warranted under extraordinary circumstances as determined by the Administrator. Provides funding from DOE nuclear nonproliferation funds.
(Sec. 3135) Amends the Bob Stump NDAA for Fiscal Year 2003 to authorize the Secretary, in order to achieve international participation in a program for the elimination of production of weapons-grade plutonium, to enter into one or more agreements with any appropriate person, foreign government, or international organization for the contribution of funds for such program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) notify the defense and appropriations committees at least 30 days in advance of the intent to use such a contribution for such purposes; and (2) report annually to such committees on the receipt and utilization of such contributions.
Subtitle D: Other Matters - (Sec. 3141) Amends the Atomic Energy Act to extend through 2006 (currently 2004) the authority of the Secretary to enter into indemnification agreements with DOE contractors conducting activities that involve the risk of public liability and are not subject to other financial protection agreements.
(Sec. 3142) Requires the Assistant Secretary of Energy to report to the Secretary on the maintenance of retirement benefits for workers at DOE 2006 closure sites after the closure of such sites. Directs the Secretary to transmit such report to Congress, together with comments and recommendations.
(Sec. 3143) Directs the Administrator to contract with a federally funded research and development center for a study to assess NNSA efforts to understand the aging of plutonium in nuclear weapons. Requires a findings report from the Administrator to Congress.
(Sec. 3144) Directs the Secretary to require that the primary management and operations contract for Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, contains terms requiring the contractor to provide support to the Los Alamos Public School District for the elementary and secondary education of students in the amount of $8 million per fiscal year.
(Sec. 3145) Directs the Secretary to use competitive procedures in contracting for the conduct of independent reviews and evaluations of the design, construction, and operations of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico as they relate to the protection of the public health and safety and the environment. Outlines contract requirements.
(Sec. 3146) Directs the Secretary to arrange with the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences for a study of DOE plans to manage radioactive waste streams meeting a certain concentration level and not stored in a repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste. Requires an interim and final report from the Council to the Secretary and the appropriations, defense, and environmental committees. Provides study funding.
(Sec. 3147) Establishes in the Treasury the Pajarito Plateau Homesteaders Compensation Fund for the settlement of two lawsuits involving the U.S. acquisition of certain lands in New Mexico for the Manhattan Project (nuclear testing) conducted during World War II. Outlines judicial procedures with respect to the consolidated lawsuits. Provides Fund funding from amounts authorized for the NNSA under this title.
(Sec. 3148) Authorizes DOE to transfer, without consideration, certain parcels of land at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, to be used to facilitate economic development for Los Alamos County public schools.
Subtitle E: Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program - (Sec. 3161) Amends the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 to compensate under such Program any DOE contractor suffering an illness or death resulting from exposure to a toxic substance at a DOE facility. Directs the Secretary of Labor to administer the Program. Provides a compensation schedule based upon degree of impairment ratings ($2,500 for every degree of impairment), and includes as part of such compensation any wage loss suffered by an employee. Provides a compensation schedule for survivors of such employees, with three different categories based on the probability that the exposure contributed to the employee's death, along with other factors in descending order of priority. Makes such compensation provisions applicable to certain uranium mining or mill employees. Provides for judicial review of decisions concerning eligibility for compensation payments. Authorizes such Secretary to utilize the services of physicians for making eligibility and impairment determinations. Requires covered DOE employees to be furnished medical services for the covered illness. Reduces any such benefits by the amount received due to such illness from a State workers compensation system. Limits to $250,000 the maximum aggregate benefit (other than medical benefits) that an individual may receive based on an illness or death. Establishes within the Department of Labor the Office of the Ombudsman to provide benefits information, make recommendations on the location of resource centers for the acceptance and development of claims, and undertake related activities. Requires an annual activities report from the Ombudsman to Congress. Terminates this section three years after the enactment of this Act.
(Sec. 3164) Directs the Secretary to transfer Program funds to the Secretary of Labor to administer the compensation program.
(Sec. 3166) Directs the Secretary to ensure that members and staff of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Advisory Board are afforded sufficient security clearances to carry out investigations and employment information tracking relating to the compensation program. Provides deadlines with respect to the designation of members of the Special Exposure Cohort (investigative body for the compensation program). Requires the Secretary of Labor to direct the NIOSH Director to prepare, to the extent determined useful, site profiles (working conditions) for a DOE facility based on records, files, and other data provided by the Secretary of Energy. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish time frames for completing site profiles for DOE facilities for which such profiles have not been completed.
(Sec. 3167) Directs the President to require the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health to convene a Board meeting for consideration of the designation of members of the Special Exposure Cohort for whom petitions have already been received. Requires a report from the President to Congress on the status of such petitions.
(Sec. 3168) Includes under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program those workers exposed to residual radiation contamination.
(Sec. 3169) Requires the NIOSH Director to submit to Congress an update to the report on residual contamination of facilities required under the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2002.
(Sec. 3170) Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary should: (1) review the availability of assistance under subtitle B of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 for energy employees in the western New York region, including western Pennsylvania; and (2) recommend a location in that region for a resource center to provide claim assistance to such employees.
Title XXXII: Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board - (Sec. 3201) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.
Title XXXIII: National Defense Stockpile - (Sec. 3301) Authorizes the National Defense Stockpile (NDS) Manager, during FY 2005, to obligate up to $59.7 million of the funds in the National Defense Stockpile Transaction Fund (Fund) for authorized Fund uses, including the disposal of hazardous materials that are environmentally sensitive. Authorizes the NDS Manager to obligate amounts in excess of such amount 45 days after notifying Congress that extraordinary or emergency conditions necessitate the additional obligations.
(Sec. 3302) Amends the Thurmond Act to authorize the Secretary of Defense to dispose of NDS materials so as to result in $785 million in receipts by the end of FY 2005 and $870 million in receipts by the end of FY 2009.
(Sec. 3303) Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to dispose of up to 50,000 tons of ferromanganese from the NDS during FY 2005, allowing the disposal of up to 50,000 additional tons if all such disposals are completed before September 30, 2005. Allows the disposal of the additional amounts only if such Secretary has certified to the defense committees, at least 30 days in advance, that such disposal is in the national interest, will not cause disruption in the ferromanganese markets, and is consistent with NDS requirements and purposes.
(Sec. 3304) Prohibits the Secretary of Defense, during FY 2005, from storing mercury from the NDS at any facility not owned or leased by the United States.
Title XXXIV: Naval Petroleum Reserves - (Sec. 3401) Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary for FY 2005 to carry out activities relating to the naval petroleum reserves.
Title XXXV: Maritime Administration - (Sec. 3501) Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Transportation for FY 2005 for the Maritime Administration for: (1) operations and training; (2) administrative expenses under the loan guarantee program authorized under the Merchant Marine Act, 1936; and (3) ship disposal.
(Sec. 3502) Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to extend through December 31, 2010, the authority of the Secretary of Transportation to purchase war risk insurance and reinsurance for merchant marine vessels.
(Sec. 3503) Amends the Maritime Security Act of 2003 to require the Secretary of Transportation, in providing financial assistance for fiscal years after 2005 for the construction of tank vessels to be used for commercial and, if necessary, national defense purposes, to give priority consideration to subsidy proposals from applicants accepted for participation in the Shipboard Technology Evaluation Program, as outlined in a specified Circular issued by the Commandant of the Coast Guard on January 2, 2004.
Title XXXVI: Assistance to Firefighters - Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program Reauthorization Act of 2004 - (Sec. 3602) Amends the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to: (1) include in the purposes of such Act firefighter safety research and development, as well as research to improve firefighter health and life safety; and (2) authorize the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide grant assistance to non-hospital-affiliated emergency medical services (EMS) organizations. Provides grant limits of $1 million, but requires recipients to match 20 percent of grant funds with non-Federal funds. Reduces matching funds requirements with respect to communities of 50,000 or fewer residents. Increases grant limits with respect to recipients serving populations of over 500,000. Outlines grant distribution requirements. Requires the FEMA Director to convene an annual meeting of recognized national fire service and EMS organizations for recommending criteria for awarding grants and necessary administrative changes to the grant program.
(Sec. 3603) Directs the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration to study, and report to specified congressional committees on, appropriate firefighting equipment, staffing, and training, as well as the impact of the grant program in meeting the needs of fire services. Authorizes appropriations for the study.
(This measure has not been amended since the Conference Report was filed in the House on October 8, 2004. The summary of that version is repeated here.)
Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 - Division A: Department of Defense Authorizations - Title I: Procurement - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - (Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for 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 2005 for defense-wide procurement.
Subtitle B: Army Programs - (Sec. 111) Authorizes the Secretaries of the Army and Navy, beginning with the FY 2005 program year, to jointly enter into a multiyear contract for procurement of the lightweight 155-millimeter howitzer.
(Sec. 112) Prohibits the obligation or expenditure of funds for the procurement of light utility helicopters until 30 days after the Secretary of the Army submits to the congressional defense and appropriations committees: (1) a certification that all required documentation for the acquisition of such helicopters has been completed and approved; and (2) an updated modernization plan for Army aviation, containing specified elements.
Subtitle C: Navy Programs - (Sec. 121) Directs the Secretary of the Navy to: (1) accelerate the program for in-service modernization of the DDG-51 class of destroyers; and (2) report to the congressional defense and appropriations committees on steps taken under the program.
(Sec. 122) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2004 to repeal the authority for a pilot program for flexible funding of naval cruiser conversions and overhauls.
(Sec. 123) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to procure the first amphibious assault ship of the LHA(R) class, subject to the availability of appropriations.
Subtitle D: Air Force Programs - (Sec. 131) Prohibits, during FY 2005, the retirement of: (1) any KC-135E aircraft; or (2) any F-117 aircraft in use by the Air Force during FY 2004.
(Sec. 133) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004 to: (1) prohibit the leasing of tanker aircraft under a prior multiyear aircraft lease pilot program; (2) authorize a multiyear procurement of up to 100 aerial refueling aircraft, for up to ten program years; (3) prohibit the use of incremental funding for the multiyear contract; and (4) remove, throughout the program, references to the leasing of aircraft.
Subtitle E: Other Matters - (Sec. 141) Requires the Secretary of Defense (Secretary) to revise Department of Defense (DOD) regulations, directives, and guidance to account for survivability and suitability against asymmetric threats in developing any manned system and any equipment intended to enhance personnel survivability.
(Sec. 142) Requires the Secretary to ensure that the allocation of equipment acquired using funds authorized under this title to operational units involved in Operations Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom be made without regard to the status of the units as active, Guard, or reserve components.
(Sec. 143) Directs the Secretary to report to the defense and appropriations committees on options for the acquisition of precision-guided munitions.
Title II: Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - (Sec. 201) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for the Armed Forces for research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E). Earmarks specified amounts for the Defense Science and Technology Program.
(Sec. 203) Increases, by specified amounts, funds provided for RDT&E for: (1) the Navy for nano-composite hard-coat for aircraft canopies; and (2) the Air Force for command-and-control service level management.
Subtitle B: Program Requirements, Restrictions, and Limitations - (Sec. 211) Directs the Secretary of the Army to establish and implement a program strategy for the Army's Future Combat Systems acquisition program. Outlines program strategy elements. Requires the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, before convening the Milestone B update for such program, to submit to Congress an independent program cost estimate, together with related reports concerning such program. Limits program funding until the Secretary of the Army certifies to Congress that such program strategy has been established and implemented.
(Sec. 212) Directs the Secretary to establish a program for research and development in advanced vacuum electronics to meet the requirements of DOD systems. Requires a report from the Director of Defense Research and Engineering to the defense and appropriations committees on program implementation.
(Sec. 213) Directs the Comptroller General (CG) to: (1) conduct an annual review of the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft program; (2) report annually to the defense and appropriations committees on the most recent review; and (3) with each such report, certify whether the CG has had access to sufficient information to make informed judgments on matters covered by the report. Terminates report requirements after March 15, 2009.
(Sec. 214) Requires that amounts for RDT&E for the U.S. Joint Forces Command be derived only from amounts made available to DOD for defense-wide RDT&E. Requires any such amount to be set forth separately in annual budget requests.
(Sec. 215) Limits the obligation or expenditure of funds available to DOD for the Global Positioning System (GPS) III satellite until the Secretary: (1) completes an analysis of alternatives for architectures, technologies, and procedures for the next generation GPS; and (2) reports to the defense and appropriations committees on the results of such analysis.
(Sec. 216) Amends the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (Spence Act) to extend until March 1, 2005, the due date for the initiation of a concept demonstration of the Global Hawk high altitude endurance unmanned aerial vehicle.
(Sec. 217) Directs the Secretary to establish an executive committee and require such committee to provide guidance and recommendations for the management of the Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems program to the Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Agency personnel managing the program.
Subtitle C: Missile Defense Programs - (Sec. 231) Authorizes funds appropriated for FY 2005 or 2006 for RDT&E for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to be used for the development and fielding of ballistic missile defense capabilities.
(Sec. 232) Includes as an element of the Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) System the Army's Patriot Advanced Capability-3/Medium Extended Air Defense System air and missile defense program. Requires the MDA Director to ensure that any configuration changes for the PAC-3/MEADS program is subject to the configuration control board processes of the MDA. Allows the Secretary of the Army to make significant changes to the baseline technical specifications and schedule for the PAC-3/MEADS program only with the concurrence of the MDA Director. Requires the Secretary of Defense to: (1) develop procedures to determine the effects of changes made by the Secretary of the Army with respect to the PAC-3/MEADS program; and (2) report to the defense and appropriations committees on the procedures developed.
(Sec. 233) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2002 to direct the CG to: (1) conduct an assessment, at the conclusion of each of 2002 through 2006, of the extent to which each BMD program meets cost, scheduling, testing, and performance goals; and (2) report each assessment's results to the defense and appropriations committees.
(Sec. 234) Requires the: (1) Secretary to prescribe criteria for operationally realistic testing of fieldable prototypes developed under the BMD spiral development program; (2) Director of Operational Test and Evaluation to evaluate the results of each test conducted, and report evaluation results to the Secretary and the defense and appropriations committees; (3) MDA Director to establish cost, schedule, and performance baselines for each block configuration of the BMD system being fielded, and to include such information in required Selected Acquisition reports to Congress; and (4) MDA Director to include in such reports any significant variations from the established baselines.
Subtitle D: Other Matters - (Sec. 241) Directs the Secretary, for each of FY 2006 through 2009, to report to the defense committees on the submarine technologies that are available or potentially available for insertion into Navy submarines to reduce their production and operating costs while maintaining or improving their effectiveness.
(Sec. 242) Expresses the sense of Congress: (1) in strong support of the Advanced Shipbuilding Enterprise for reducing the cost of building and repairing ships in the United States; and (2) that the Secretary should continue to provide in the future-years defense program funding for the Enterprise at a sustained level to support additional research for reducing such cost.
Title III: Operation and Maintenance - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - (Sec. 301) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for operation and maintenance (O&M) for the Armed Forces and specified activities and agencies of DOD.
(Sec. 302) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for: (1) working capital funds; (2) the Defense Health Program; (3) chemical agents and munitions destruction, defense; (4) defense drug interdiction and counter-drug activities; and (5) the Defense Inspector General.
Subtitle B: Environmental Provisions - (Sec. 311) Deems the Defense Inspector General in compliance with certain requirements under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 if such Inspector General conducts periodic audits of payments, obligations, reimbursements, and other uses of the Hazardous Substances Fund. Requires a report to Congress on each audit conducted.
(Sec. 312) Authorizes the Secretary to transfer specified DOD O&M funds to a named account as reimbursement to the Environmental Protection Agency for certain cleanup costs associated with the Moses Lake Wellfield Superfund Site, Washington.
(Sec. 313) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1999 to increase the amount authorized for an environmental remediation project in Front Royal, Virginia.
(Sec. 314) Directs the Secretary of the Army to carry out the small boat harbor project in Unalaska, Alaska.
(Sec. 315) Requires the Secretary of the Air Force to report to the defense committees on current and anticipated encroachments on the use and utility of the special use airspace of the Utah Test and Training Range, including encroachments brought about through actions of other Federal agencies.
(Sec. 316) Directs the CG to study, and report to Congress on, the availability of cost-effective technologies for the cleanup of groundwater contamination at DOD installations in lieu of traditional methods such as pump-and-treat.
Sec. 317) Requires the CG to: (1) study drinking water contamination and related health effects at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; (2) ensure study participation by other interested (affected) parties; and (3) report study results and recommendations to the defense and appropriations committees.
(Sec. 318) Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary should: (1) work to develop a national plan to remediate perchlorate contamination resulting from DOD activities; (2) continue any current remediation; (3) develop a remediation plan with respect to contamination at levels that pose a hazard to human health; and (4) continue the process of evaluating and prioritizing contamination sites without waiting for the development of a Federal drinking water standard for perchlorate.
Subtitle C: Workplace and Depot Issues - (Sec. 321) Revises the due dates and content requirements of annual DOD reports concerning funds expended for depot-level maintenance and repair workloads.
(Sec. 322) Repeals an annual reporting requirement from the Secretary to the defense committees on the number of employees performing depot-level maintenance and repair of materiel.
(Sec. 323) Extends through 2009 the authority to waive limitations on the performance of depot-level maintenance of materiel with respect to certain expenditures incurred in the operation of Centers of Industrial and Technical Excellence.
(Sec. 324) Amends the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act (Stump Act) for Fiscal Year 2003 to extend through FY 2006 the temporary authority within DOD for contractor performance of security-guard functions. Extends dates of, and requires the inclusion of additional information within, related reports.
(Sec. 325) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to carry out a pilot program for the purchase of certain municipal services needed for an Army installation from a county or municipality in which the installation is located. Allows up to two Army installations to participate in the pilot program. Requires: (1) an implementation report from the Secretary to the defense and appropriations committees and the CG; and (2) the CG to submit to such committees an assessment of such report. Terminates program authority on September 30, 2010.
(Sec. 326) Revises Federal procurement policy protest provisions to include requirements for bid protests by Federal employees in actions under Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76 (private performance of an activity or function of a Federal agency) regarding an activity or function performed by more than 65 full-time equivalent employees of a Federal agency. Authorizes an agency tender official to file a protest in connection with a public-private competition for which such official is an interested party. Allows an appropriate Federal official to intervene in a civil action concerning a public-private competition if a private-sector interested party so intervenes.
(Sec. 327) Requires that, if a public-private competition requires the inclusion of a formal comparison of costs of civilian-versus-contractor performance, the Secretary shall maintain the continued performance of such activity or function by the civilian employees unless the competitive sourcing official determines that the costs of contractor performance would be less costly to DOD by either $10 million or ten percent of the most efficient organization's personnel-related costs for performance by DOD civilian employees. Requires the Secretary to ensure that no DOD organization, function, or activity is consolidated, restructured, or otherwise modified in order to circumvent the formal comparison requirements. Provides an exemption from such requirements in the case of a public-private competition conducted as part of the best-value source selection pilot program authorized under the NDAA for FY 2004.
(Sec. 328) Requires the Inspector General to report to Congress on whether DOD employs a sufficient number of trained civilian employees to: (1) satisfactorily conduct all of the public-private competitions scheduled to be undertaken by DOD during the next fiscal year; and (2) administer any resulting contracts.
Subtitle D: Information Technology - (Sec. 331) Directs the Secretary to prepare, and report to the defense and appropriations committees on, a plan to provide for the transition of DOD information technology systems to Internet Protocol version 6 from the present use of version 4 and other network protocols.
(Sec. 332) Outlines required conditions for the obligation of DOD funds for a defense business system modernization having a total cost in excess of $1 million, including that: (1) such system comply with a specified enterprise architecture; and (2) certification of such system has been approved by the Defense Business Systems Management Committee. Requires the Secretary to develop an enterprise architecture to cover all defense business systems and their functions and activities, as well as a transition plan. Requires a defense business system investment review. Directs the Secretary to include information concerning each defense business system modernization in annual budget materials submitted to Congress for FY 2006 and thereafter. Requires compliance reports in each of the years 2005 through 2009. Directs the Secretary to establish a Defense Business Systems Management Committee to: (1) recommend to the Secretary policies and procedures with respect to defense business system transformation, reform, reorganization, or improvements; and (2) review and approve any major update of the defense business enterprise architecture developed under this section. Requires an annual report from the CG to the defense and appropriations committees assessing the extent to which actions taken by DOD comply with requirements of this section.
(Sec. 333) Requires the Secretary to report to the defense committees on a test program on the maturity and effectiveness of the Global Information Grid-Bandwidth Expansion network architecture.
Subtitle E: Extensions of Program Authorities - (Sec. 341) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004 to extend through FY 2006 the Secretary's authority to provide prepaid phone cards or equivalent telecommunications benefits to certain members of the Armed Forces stationed outside the United States.
(Sec. 342) Amends the Spence Act to extend through FY 2008 a demonstration program to maintain the viability and unique capabilities at Army manufacturing arsenals.
(Sec. 343) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 1998 to: (1) extend through FY 2006 a pilot program of using commercial services to improve the collection of DOD claims under aircraft engine warranties; and (2) direct the Secretary to report to Congress on such program.
Subtitle F: Other Matters - (Sec. 351) Directs the Secretary to reimburse a member of the Armed Forces for the cost of any protective, safety, or health equipment that was purchased in anticipation of or during deployment in connection with Operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, or Iraqi Freedom if: (1) the Secretary certifies that such equipment was critical to the protection, safety, or health of the member; (2) the member was not issued such equipment before any such operations; and (3) the equipment was purchased during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, and ending on July 31, 2004.
(Sec. 352) Prohibits FY 2005 DOD O&M funds from being obligated for preparing or implementing the Mid-Range Financial Improvement Plan until the Secretary reports to the defense and appropriations committees: (1) a determination that the enterprise architecture and transition plan required under section 332 of this Act has been developed; (2) an explanation of the use of such funds; and (3) an estimate of the costs to prepare and implement the Plan in future years.
(Sec. 353) Authorizes a working-capital funded Army industrial facility, subject to specified conditions, to enter into cooperative arrangements with non-Army entities to carry out military or commercial projects at the facility, including the sale of manufactured articles and the performance of work. Terminates such authority on September 30, 2009.
(Sec. 354) Directs (current law authorizes) the Secretary to transfer to State firefighting agencies excess DOD personal property suitable for firefighting purposes.
Title IV: Military Personnel Authorizations - Subtitle A: Active Forces - (Sec. 401) Sets forth authorized end strengths for active-duty forces as of the end of FY 2005.
(Sec. 402) Revises, effective October 1, 2004, the permanent active-duty end strength minimum levels for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force.
(Sec. 403) Authorizes the Secretary, during FY 2005 through 2009, to increase, by up to 30,000 for the Army and 9,000 for the Marine Corps, the end strength authorized to support operational missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and to achieve transformational reorganization objectives. Requires that fiscal year's budget to specify the amounts necessary to fund the additional end strength(s).
(Sec. 404) Excludes up to 100 permanent and career professors at the military academies from annual officer end strength limits.
Subtitle B: Reserve Forces - (Sec. 411) Sets forth authorized end strengths as of the end of FY 2005 for members of the Selected Reserve and reserve personnel on active duty in support of the reserves.
(Sec. 413) Sets forth the minimum end strength for FY 2005 for Army and Air Force dual status military technicians.
(Sec. 414) Places specified FY 2005 limits on the number of non-dual status technicians authorized to be employed by the Army and Air Force Reserve and National Guard.
(Sec. 415) Sets forth the maximum number of reserve personnel authorized to be on active duty during FY 2005 for operational support.
(Sec. 416) Requires Congress to annually authorize the maximum number of reserve personnel permitted to be on: (1) active duty or full-time National Guard duty for providing operational support or preparing for and performing military funeral honors functions; and (2) active duty (or retained on active duty) while in a captive status or for medical evaluation or treatment. Includes certain reserve personnel within annual authorized active-duty end strength limits. Authorizes the Secretary to increase such end strength limits for a fiscal year by up to ten percent. Excludes: (1) certain reserve and National Guard personnel from annual authorized active-duty end strength limits; and (2) from specified personnel limits reserve personnel engaged in military-to-military contacts and comparable activities. Provides for: (1) field grade officer strength accounting; and (2) active Guard and reserve field grade officer strength accounting. Excludes from warrant officer active-duty end strength limits reserve warrant officers: (1) on active duty for any of the first two purposes specified in this section; or (2) on full-time National Guard duty. Repeals the requirement that members of the National Guard on active duty or full-time National Guard duty for performing drug interdiction and counter-drug activities be excluded from the authorized end strengths for reserve personnel performing active duty in support of the reserve components. Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense committees on the exclusions from active-duty end strengths provided under this section. Subtitle C: Authorizations of Appropriations - (Sec. 421) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for: (1) military personnel; and (2) the Armed Forces Retirement Home.
Title V: Military Personnel Policy - Subtitle A: Officer Personnel Policy - (Sec. 501) Repeals the prohibition against a person receiving an original appointment as a commissioned officer until the person has completed one year of service on active duty as a commissioned officer of a reserve component. Allows a person to qualify for such original appointment if he or she completes 20 years of active commissioned service before his or her 62nd (currently, 55th) birthday. Authorizes the Secretary to waive the requirement that a person receiving such an appointment be a citizen of the United States in the case of a person lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence when the Secretary determines that the national security so requires, but only for an original appointment in a grade below major or lieutenant commander. Requires the President alone (currently, with the advice and consent of the Senate) to make original appointments in the grades of second lieutenant through captain in the regular Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, and ensign through lieutenant in the regular Navy. Repeals limitations on the total authorized end strength of regular commissioned officers serving on active duty. Authorizes the Secretary concerned to discharge certain officers, or transfer certain officers from an active-duty list to a reserve active-status list, in order to force shape (restructure) that armed force. Requires appointment in a regular component, and service as a second lieutenant or ensign, for students graduating from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Repeals the requirement that a member serve for his or her last six years in a reserve component to be eligible for nonregular (reserve) retirement.
(Sec. 502) Repeals the requirement that Deputy and Assistant Chiefs of Naval Operations be selected from officers in the line of the Navy.
(Sec. 503) Limits to 30 the total number of brigadier generals and rear admirals (lower half) on the active-duty list who are authorized to be frocked (to wear the insignia of such higher grade prior to the actual promotion date) to major general or rear admiral (upper half).
(Sec. 504) Revises the required distribution in grade of Marine Corps Reserve officers in an active status in grades below brigadier general.
(Sec. 505) Authorizes Federal recognition of National Guard commissioned officers appointed from former Coast Guard personnel.
(Sec. 506) Directs the Secretary to study, and report to Congress on, whether it would be equitable for retired officers on active duty, but not on the active-duty list, to be eligible for consideration for promotion.
(Sec. 507) Provides that, upon a vacancy in the office of the Chief of the National Guard Bureau or in the event such Chief is unable to perform such duties, the senior officer of the Army or Air National Guard on duty with the Bureau shall serve as acting Chief until a successor is appointed or the Chief is able to perform such duties.
(Sec. 508) Redesignates the Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau as the Director of the Joint Staff of the National Guard Bureau.
Subtitle B: Reserve Component Policy Matters - (Sec. 511) Removes references to planned mobilizations from the statutory purposes of the reserve components. (Sec. 512) Authorizes the Secretary to provide funds to a State governor to employ National Guard units or members to conduct homeland defense activities (the protection of U.S. territory, population, or infrastructure). Considers such duty as full-time National Guard duty. Limits such duty to 180 days, with an authorized extension of up to 90 days to meet extraordinary circumstances. Authorizes a State governor to request such assistance, requiring within such request the specific intended homeland defense activities anticipated and an explanation of why such National Guard participation is necessary and appropriate. Requires an annual report from the Secretary to the defense and appropriations committees on any assistance provided and activities carried out. Excludes persons performing such duty from annual National Guard full-time duty end strengths.
(Sec. 513) Establishes the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves to study: (1) the roles and missions of the National Guard and other reserve components; and (2) the compensation and other benefits currently provided to such members. Requires an interim and final report from the Commission to the defense committees. Requires the Secretary, beginning in 2006, to annually review study results and report review results to the defense committees.
(Sec. 514) Allows the Secretary concerned to order a member of the reserves, without the member's consent, to active duty for training. (Currently, the Secretary concerned may order a reserve member to any active duty other than for training.)
(Sec. 515) Reduces from 5,000 to 3,500 the minimum number of active-duty personnel to serve as advisers to various units of the Selected Reserve. Directs the Secretary of the Army to report to the defense committees on the support by active components of the Army for training and readiness of the Army National Guard and Army Reserve.
(Sec. 516) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to accept voluntary services to support programs of a committee of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve.
(Sec. 517) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy, with the approval of the President, to redesignate the Naval Reserve as the Navy Reserve.
(Sec. 518) Directs the CG to review, and report to the defense committees on, a plan of the Secretary of the Navy for the integration of active and reserve Navy components in peacetime and wartime operations.
(Sec. 519) Prohibits the Secretary from establishing in any one State more than two academies for the STARBASE Program (a science, mathematics, and technology education improvement program). Authorizes a waiver of such limitation.
(Sec. 520) Allows funds authorized to be appropriated to the Army Reserve, Army National Guard, or Air National Guard for the recruitment and retention of personnel to be expended to procure items of nominal or modest value ($50 or less) to recognize Reserve or Guard members, their families, or other individuals for support that substantially facilitates such Reserve or Guard service. Terminates such authority at the end of 2005.
Subtitle C: Reserve Component Personnel Matters - (Sec. 521) States that, for disability retirement eligibility purposes, a reserve member ordered to active duty for a period of more than 30 days who is released prior to such 30 days for failure to meet physical standards for retention, or medical or dental standards for deployment due to a preexisting condition not aggravated during such duty period, shall be considered to have been serving under an order to active duty for a period of 30 days or less.
(Sec. 523) Removes the prohibition on the receipt of Federal civil service military leave for reserve and National Guard civilian technicians performing active duty during a war or national emergency.
(Sec. 524) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to provide an individual who has received a commission as an Army Reserve officer from a military junior college but who does not have a baccalaureate degree with financial assistance for the pursuit of such a degree. Outlines agreement and reimbursement requirements in connection with such assistance. Prohibits such an officer from being called or ordered to active duty for a deployment while participating in such program. Authorizes such Secretary to provide the same financial assistance with respect to service in troop program units. Directs the Secretary of the Army to report to the defense committees annually for six years after the enactment of this Act on the implementation of the financial assistance program.
(Sec. 525) Repeals the December 31, 2006, sunset on the provision of financial assistance for advanced training for Senior ROTC students not otherwise eligible for such training who have successfully completed their first year of Senior ROTC studies.
(Sec. 526) Revises a program under which the Secretary is authorized to repay certain educational loans of enlisted members of the Selected Reserve in return for service as members with critical specialties to allow the Secretary to repay such a loan in connection with service performed by a member as an officer in the case of a borrower who, after the service commitment is entered into and while performing service as an enlisted member, accepts an appointment or commission as a Selected Reserve warrant or commissioned officer.
(Sec. 527) Directs the Secretary of each military department (and the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy) to establish and maintain a program to provide educational assistance to members of the Ready Reserve under the jurisdiction of that Secretary. Limits such educational assistance to the following percentages of that authorized under the Montgomery GI Bill program for former active-duty personnel: (1) 40 percent, for a reserve member who performs active service for 90 consecutive days but less than one continuous year; (2) 60 percent, for a reserve member who performs active service for one continuous year but less than two continuous years; or (3) 80 percent, for a reserve member who performs active service for two consecutive years or more. Limits the term of such assistance to 36 months, or its equivalent in part-time educational assistance. Continues assistance eligibility for members ordered to active duty while serving in the Selected Reserve or Ready Reserve.
(Sec. 528) Expresses the sense of Congress that the Internal Revenue Service should provide guidance to promote and ensure the validity of involuntary differential pay arrangements, benefits payments, and contributions to retirement savings plans related thereto.
Subtitle D: Joint Officer Management and Professional Military Education - (Sec. 531) Directs the Secretary to develop a strategic plan for joint officer management and joint professional military education that links joint officer development to the accomplishment of the overall missions and goals of DOD, as set forth in the most recent national military strategy. Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense committees on: (1) the developed plan; and (2) an additional assessment of the performance in joint matters of specified senior officers and DOD employees.
(Sec. 532) Codifies under Federal Armed Forces law provisions relating to professional military education and currently contained in the NDAA for Fiscal Year 1990. Revises such provisions to, among other things: (1) reduce and consolidate the number of subjects that joint professional military education must include; (2) require the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to advise and assist the Secretary in designating and certifying certain courses of instruction for such education; and (3) delete the requirement of a written examination as part of the evaluation criteria for selecting officers for full-time attendance at intermediate-level service schools.
(Sec. 533) Extends to September 30, 2008, the date after which an officer must be selected for the joint officer specialty before promotion to the grade of brigadier general or rear admiral (lower half).
(Sec. 534) Allows officers to continue to accumulate joint credit when serving consecutive joint duty assignments, even if those assignments are not within the same organization.
(Sec. 535) Extends through December 27, 2006, the temporary authority regarding promotion comparison standards for joint specialty officers.
(Sec. 536) Extends, from 2004 through 2006, the authority to waive the requirement that reserve chiefs and National Guard directors have significant joint duty experience. Requires a plan from the Secretary, submitted to the defense committees, to ensure that all officers selected for such positions after such date have significant joint duty experience.
Subtitle E: Military Service Academies - (Sec. 541) Authorizes the Secretary to waive the requirement that a service academy superintendent retire upon the end of the prescribed period of such service. Requires, in such case, notification of the defense committees with a statement of the reasons therefor. Requires such individuals to serve at least a three-year term as superintendent. Requires that if a superintendent is reassigned, retires, or otherwise leaves such service before the three-year period, then the Secretary concerned must notify the defense committees of the reasons for the curtailed assignment.
(Sec. 542) Requires any person appointed or assigned as Dean of the Air Force Academy to hold the highest degree in that person's academic field.
(Sec. 543) Revises provisions concerning the constitution of an annual Board of Visitors to the United States Air Force Academy to: (1) modify the conditions for termination of Board members who are members of Congress; and (2) require semiannual Board reports to Congress.
(Sec. 544) Permits appropriated funds to be treated as nonappropriated funds for all service academy athletic and extracurricular programs and similar support mission activities that: (1) are not considered morale, welfare, and recreation programs or activities; (2) are funded out of appropriated funds; (3) are supported by a supplemental mission nonappropriated fund instrumentality; and (4) are not operated as a private organization.
(Sec. 545) Codifies under Federal Armed Forces law provisions of the NDAA for Fiscal Year 1995 which prohibit the imposition of charges for tuition, room, or board at the military academies and the U.S. Coast Guard and Merchant Marine Academies.
Subtitle F: Other Education and Training Matters - (Sec. 551) Authorizes the Secretary of each military department to establish a program to increase the number and level of qualifications of persons entering the Armed Forces as enlisted members by encouraging recruits to pursue higher education or vocational or technical training before entry into active service. Authorizes the Secretary concerned to provide for delayed entry, through service in the reserves or National Guard, while allowing for such education or training. Limits such delayed entry to 30 months after accepting an enlistment. Provides a monthly allowance during such delayed entry (requiring satisfactory service in the reserves or National Guard during such period). Requires a pro rate recoupment of such allowance for any period of service not successfully completed during the delayed entry period.
(Sec. 552) Requires that military recruiters be given access to college or university campuses and students that is at least equal in quality and scope to the access provided to any other employer. Includes funds made available for the Department of Homeland Security, the National Nuclear Security Administration of the Department of Energy, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) among the funding sources that could be terminated if an institution is found to have a policy of preventing military recruiter or Senior ROTC unit access.
(Sec. 553) Includes commissioned officers serving on full-time National Guard duty among those for whom the Secretary concerned may pay tuition or other educational expenses for education or training during off-duty periods. Authorizes the Secretary concerned to reduce or waive the required two years of active-duty service following the completion of such education or training in the case of: (1) a commissioned officer who is subject to mandatory separation or who has completed the period of active-duty service in support of a contingency operation; or (2) other exigent circumstances. Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to pay such educational or training expenses for an officer in the Selected Reserve of the Army National Guard or Army Reserve.
(Sec. 554) Increases, from two to three years, the maximum period of educational leave for certain active-duty personnel pursuing a program of education in a health care profession.
(Sec. 555) Makes eligible for military medical and dental care cadets or midshipmen at a U.S. military academy, or members or applicants for membership in the Senior ROTC, who incur or aggravate an injury, illness, or disease in the line of duty or while traveling to or from such duty. Provides an exception when the condition is the result of gross negligence or misconduct. Makes cadets and midshipmen eligible for military medical disability pay with respect to disabilities incurred after the date of enactment of this Act.
(Sec. 556) Shifts the authority for conferring associate degrees at the Community College of the Air Force from the commander of the Air Education and Training Command to the commander of Air University.
(Sec. 557) Redesignates the Superintendent of the Naval Postgraduate School as the President of the Naval Postgraduate School. Establishes at such School the position of Provost and Academic Dean.
Subtitle G: Assistance to Local Educational Agencies for Defense Dependents Education - (Sec. 558) Provides an adjustment, with respect to the 2004-2005 school year, in the computation of impact aid funding provided by the Department of Education to certain local educational agencies heavily impacted by dependents of military personnel.
(Sec. 559) Earmarks specified DOD O&M funds for assistance to local educational agencies that benefit dependents of members of the Armed Forces and DOD civilian employees. Requires the Secretary to notify each agency eligible for such assistance.
(Sec. 560) Earmarks specified DOD O&M funds for impact aid assistance for children with severe disabilities, as authorized under the Spence Act.
Subtitle H: Medals and Decorations and Special Promotions and Appointments - (Sec. 561) Authorizes the posthumous award of the Medal of Honor to a deceased, unidentified casualty of a particular war or other armed conflict who is interred in the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, as the representative of the members who died in such war or conflict, and not to the individual personally.
(Sec. 562) Directs the Secretary of the Army to submit to the defense committees a plan for revised criteria and eligibility requirements for the award of the Combat Infantryman Badge and Combat Medical Badge for service in the Republic of Korea after July 28, 1953.
(Sec. 563) Authorizes the President to appoint Brigadier General Charles E. Yeager, U.S. Air Force (retired), to the grade of major general on the Air Force retired list.
(Sec. 564) Authorizes the President to issue a posthumous commission as major general, U.S. Army, for the late William Mitchell, who resigned his commission as colonel on February 1, 1926.
Subtitle I: Military Voting - (Sec. 566) Amends the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to: (1) include absentee military voters; and (2) include absent military voters under write-in ballot requirements and restrictions.
(Sec. 567) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2002 to delay an electronic voting demonstration project until the first regularly scheduled general Federal election after the Election Assistance Commission notifies the Secretary that the Commission has established electronic absentee voting guidelines and certifies that it will assist the Secretary in carrying out the demonstration project.
(Sec. 568) Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on: (1) operations of the Federal Voting Assistance Program to support absentee military voting; (2) the military postal system to support morale and absentee voting of members; and (3) implementation of recommended postal system improvements.
Subtitle J: Military Justice Matters - (Sec. 571) Directs the Secretary to: (1) review the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and the Manual for Courts-Martial to determine changes required to improve the ability of the military justice system to address issues relating to sexual assault and to conform the UCMJ and such Manual more closely to other Federal laws and regulations addressing such issues; and (2) report to the defense committees on the results of such review.
(Sec. 572) Provides that service time will not be considered lost (and therefore required to be made up) for a period of confinement in connection with a trial when the charge is dismissed, the individual is acquitted, or the conviction is set aside or dismissed.
(Sec. 573) Requires the Secretary to ensure that: (1) the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory has adequate personnel and resources to effectively process forensic evidence within 60 days of its receipt; (2) consistent policies are established among the Armed Forces to reduce the time between the collection of such evidence and its processing; and (3) laboratory personnel are appropriately trained.
(Sec. 574) Prohibits any DOD officer or employee from interfering with the ability of military department judge advocate generals (JAGs) to provide independent legal advice to their service secretaries and chiefs and military unit commanders. Requires the Secretary to appoint an independent panel to study, and report to the defense committees on, the relationships between the legal elements of each military department, and necessary policy changes for improving such relationships.
Subtitle K: Sexual Assault in the Armed Forces - (Sec. 576) Directs the Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies, established under the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004, to: (1) continue for at least 18 additional months after its scheduled termination; (2) after such period, change its name to the Defense Task Force on Sexual Assault in the Military Services; (3) conduct an examination of matters relating to sexual assault in cases in which members of the Armed Forces are either victims of, or perpetrators of, acts of sexual assault; (4) recommend ways by DOD officials and Armed Forces leadership may more effectively address matters relating to sexual assault; and (5) report on examination results to the Secretaries of Defense and the military departments. Requires the Secretary to submit such report, together with an evaluation, to the defense committees. Terminates the task force 90 days after its final report.
(Sec. 577) Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a comprehensive DOD policy on the prevention of and response to sexual assaults involving members of the Armed Forces; (2) submit to Congress a proposal for necessary legislation to enhance DOD capability to address such matters; and (3) ensure that the policy developed is implemented uniformly by the military departments. Requires the Secretaries concerned to: (1) take appropriate action to ensure the implementation of such policies and procedures; (2) annually assess such implementation; and (3) report annually to the Secretary on sexual assaults involving members of that armed force. Directs the Secretary to submit each such report to the defense committees. Requires DOD, prior to the development of such policies and procedures, to develop a definition of sexual assault that is uniform for all the Armed Forces.
Subtitle L: Management and Administrative Matters - (Sec. 581) Extends, from FY 2005 through FY 2008, certain limitations on reductions of military and civilian personnel assigned to the review and correction of military records.
(Sec. 582) Mandates that, if the staffing of the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office falls below its prescribed level, the Secretary shall notify the defense committees of the number of such personnel, together with a plan to restore such staffing to the prescribed level. Requires the CG to assess the staffing and funding levels for such Office and to report results to such committees.
(Sec. 583) Directs the Secretary concerned, in issuing military ID cards to retiree dependents, to issue a permanent ID card (not subject to renewal) to any such dependent who has attained 70 years of age.
(Sec. 584) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to furnish civilian clothing, at a cost not to exceed $250, to members traveling in connection with a medical evacuation to a military medical facility or another medical facility approved by such Secretary.
(Sec. 585) Authorizes the Secretary to accept the donation of frequent traveler miles, credits, and tickets to facilitate rest and recuperation travel of deployed members of the Armed Forces and their families. Requires consent to such donation by the air or surface carrier that issued the benefit. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude such traveler miles, credits, and tickets from gross income for tax liability purposes.
(Sec. 586) Directs the Secretary to report annually to the defense committees on discharges from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps during the preceding fiscal year.
(Sec. 587) Requires a report from the Secretary of the Air Force to Congress on the blended wing concept for the Air Force.
(Sec. 588) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) members of the Armed Forces who on their own initiative are highly motivated to return to active-duty service following rehabilitation from injuries incurred in such service, after appropriate medical review, should be given the opportunity to so return; (2) other than appropriate medical review, there should be no barrier to a member having the option to so return; and (3) the Secretary should develop protocols that expand options for such members' return to active-duty service.
Subtitle M: Other Matters - (Sec. 591) Protects military personnel from retaliatory actions for communications made through the military chain of command.
(Sec. 592) Directs the Secretary to: (1) submit to Congress a plan for implementation of the authority to allow for accession into the Armed Forces of persons with specialized skills, for performing duty using such skills; and (2) study, and report to the defense committees on, how to make civilian volunteers with critical skills rapidly available for use in, or support of, units of the Armed Forces on a temporary basis to meet operational requirements.
(Sec. 593) Directs the Secretary to carry out an initiative of enhanced screening methods and process improvements for the recruitment of home-schooled and National Guard Challenge Program GED recipients. Requires related reports.
(Sec. 594) Renames the National Guard Challenge Program the National Guard Youth Challenge Program.
(Sec. 595) Directs the Secretary to report to the defense committees: (1) on the number of positions in DOD that were converted during FY 2004 from performance by military personnel to performance by DOD civilian or contractor personnel; (2) in each of 2005 through 2007, on military-to-military capabilities or skills conversions; and (3) annually, on the status of the internal transformation of the Army from a division-oriented force to a brigade-oriented force.
(Sec. 596) Directs the Secretary of the Army to study, and report to the defense committees on, the issues relating to requests for disinterment of remains of persons buried in overseas U.S. military cemeteries. Requires the report to include recommendations by such Secretary and the American Battle Monuments Commission for changing current policy and procedures with respect to such disinterments.
(Sec. 597) Requires a report from the CG to the defense committees assessing DOD policy and criteria regarding the closure of: (1) DOD dependent elementary and secondary schools; and (2) commissary stores.
(Sec. 598) Directs the CG to study, and report to the defense committees on, programs of DOD and other Federal departments and agencies under which transition assistance is provided to personnel who are separating from active-duty service.
(Sec. 599) Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Labor to jointly carry out a study of ways to coordinate the standards applied by the Armed Forces for the training and certification of members in military occupational specialties with the standards applied to corresponding civilian occupations of government and the private sector.
Title VI: Compensation and Other Personnel Benefits - Subtitle A: Pay and Allowances - (Sec. 601) Waives any FY 2005 pay increases tied to increases in the General Schedule of Compensation for Government employees. Increases, effective January 1, 2005, by 3.5 percent the rates of basic pay for military personnel.
(Sec. 602) Prohibits the Secretary concerned, in determining a member's eligibility for supplemental subsistence allowance for low-income members with dependents, from considering such member's receipt of either (or both) special pay for duty subject to hostile fire or imminent danger, or the family separation allowance. Makes members who receive the supplemental subsistence allowance eligible for other Federal assistance, such as programs under the National School Lunch Act and the Head Start Act.
(Sec. 603) Authorizes (current law requires) the Secretary concerned to pay a family separation basic allowance for housing when a member's dependents are unable to accompany a member to a new location.
(Sec. 604) Provides that, if a member is assigned to a new area for military education or training lasting one year or less, the Secretary concerned may base the amount of the basic allowance for housing due to such member on either the duty station to which the member is reassigned or the area in which the member's dependents still reside, whichever such Secretary determines is the most equitable.
(Sec. 605) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to make an immediate lump-sum reimbursement for unusual nonrecurring expenses incurred by members serving outside the continental United States.
(Sec. 606) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to provide a member with advance basic pay of up to three months (one month automatically at the member's request and up to two additional months based upon a showing of financial hardship) for members assigned for one year or more to locations at which imminent danger special pay is authorized. Requires the Secretary concerned to recoup any such advance over a one-year period beginning the month after the advance is received.
(Sec. 607) Repeals the requirement that officers and certain enlisted personnel pay subsistence charges while hospitalized in a military medical facility.
Subtitle B: Bonuses and Special and Incentive Pays - (Sec. 611) Extends, through 2005, specified authorities currently scheduled to expire at the end of 2004 with respect to certain special pay and bonus programs within the regular and reserve Armed Forces.
(Sec. 615) Authorizes the payment of hazardous duty incentive pay ( up to $150 monthly) for regular participation as a firefighting crew member.
(Sec. 616) Reduces, from four to three years, the service commitment required for the nurse accession bonus.
(Sec. 617) Discontinues assignment incentive pay upon commencement of terminal leave (leave at the end of which the member will be discharged or released from active duty).
(Sec. 618) Authorizes the payment of an active-duty or Selected Reserve reenlistment bonus for up to 16 (currently 14) years of service. Increases the maximum amount of the Selected Reserve reenlistment bonus from: (1) $5,000 to $15,000 for a reenlistment extension of six years; (2) $2,500 to $7,500 for an extension of three years; and (3) $2,000 to $6,000 for an extension of three years when the member has already received a bonus for a previous three-year period. Authorizes such bonuses to be made in lump-sum payments. Increases similarly the: (1) Selected Reserve enlistment bonus; (2) Ready Reserve enlistment bonuses for individuals with and without prior Ready Reserve service; and (3) prior service enlistment bonus for members of the Selected Reserve.
(Sec. 619) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to pay an affiliation bonus to an eligible commissioned officer who enters into an agreement to serve for a specified period in the Selected Reserve: (1) in a designated critical officer skill; or (2) to meet a manpower shortage in a unit of the Selected Reserve or a particular pay grade of that armed force. Outlines provisions concerning commissioned officer eligibility and critical skill designation by the Secretary concerned.
Authorizes the Secretary concerned to pay an accession bonus of up to $6,000 to an individual who enters into an agreement to: (1) accept an appointment as a commissioned officer in the Armed Forces; and (2) serve in the Selected Reserve in a designated critical skill. Requires bonus repayment for failure to commence or complete the period of obligated service (determined by the Secretary concerned, but a minimum of three years).
(Sec. 620) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to pay a monthly bonus of up to $1,000 to members who maintain proficiency in a foreign language, the proficiency of which is necessary due to national defense or public health considerations. Authorizes the payment of a one-time bonus of up to $6,000 for reserve members who meet such requirements. Requires certification by the Secretary concerned of a member's proficiency in that foreign language. Allows the Secretary concerned to waive the certification requirement in the case of a member assigned to duty in connection with a contingency operation when the member otherwise meets such requirements. Requires pro rata bonus repayments for periods not successfully served.
(Sec. 621) Makes enlisted personnel eligible to receive a critical skills retention bonus while serving on an indefinite reenlistment of at least one year.
(Sec. 622) Allows reserve (currently, only regular) personnel to be paid a bonus of up to $2,000 for converting to critical occupational specialties in order to ease personnel shortages.
(Sec. 623) Makes permanent (current law provides for termination at the end of 2004) the increase in the monthly rates of: (1) imminent danger pay from $150 to $225; and (2) the family separation allowance from $100 to $250.
Subtitle C: Travel and Transportation Allowances - (Sec. 631) Authorizes a travel and transportation allowance, for two days and the time necessary for travel, for family members to attend burial ceremonies of members who die while on active duty. Removes a condition on the eligibility of parents to receive such allowance.
(Sec. 632) Limits to three (currently, two) the number of family members permitted transportation at Government expense to attend to the serious illness or injury of members of the Armed Forces. Authorizes a waiver of such limitation when determined appropriate by the Secretary concerned.
(Sec. 633) Includes, under travel and transportation allowances for dependent children of members stationed overseas, costs incurred for lodging necessitated by an interruption in travel caused by extraordinary circumstances.
Subtitle D: Retired Pay and Survivor Benefits - (Sec. 641) Provides a special rule for computing the high-36 month compensation average for disabled members of the reserves for purposes of retired pay calculation.
(Sec. 642) Repeals the current phase-in (lasting until December 31, 2004) of the concurrent receipt of military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities rated at 100 percent (thereby allowing immediate full payment of both).
(Sec. 643) Requires the Secretary to expedite completion of a study of Federal death benefits for survivors of members of the Armed Forces. Requires the President to promptly transmit any recommendations for legislation necessary to implement any recommended death benefit enhancements. Requires an interim increase in the death gratuity benefit by the same percentage as the annual increase in military basic pay. Directs the President concurrently with the budget submission for FY 2006, to submit to Congress recommendations regarding legislation on proposals that would provide enhanced death benefits for survivors of deceased members, requiring the inclusion in such recommendations of increases in the maximum benefit under the Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance program, as well as an additional set of death benefits for members who die in the line of duty while serving on active duty. Requires the FY 2006 defense budget to include recommendations on legislation for offsetting the increased outlays that would result from the enhanced benefits under this section.
(Sec. 644) Increases the annuities paid under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) to survivors of military retirees who are age 62 or older from the current 35 percent of the military retired pay of the member to: (1) 40 percent, for months after September 2005 and before April 2006; (2) 45 percent, for months after March 2006 and before April 2007; (3) 50 percent, for months after March 2007 and before April 2008; and (4) 55 percent, for months after March 2008. Makes corresponding adjustments under the SBP supplemental annuity program. Requires the recalculation of SBP annuities when the SBP percentages are increased. Eliminates the requirement that participating retirees continue to pay premiums for supplemental SBP coverage.
(Sec. 645) Allows an eligible retired or former member to elect to participate in the SBP and supplemental SBP during the one-year open enrollment period beginning on October 1, 2005. Allows, also during such period, a person currently participating in the SBP or supplemental SBP, but not at the maximum amount, to increase their participation amount. Voids any election made by a person who dies within a two-year period after such election. Requires the Secretary to prescribe an additional premium for the additional coverage under this section.
Subtitle E: Commissary and Nonappropriated Fund Instrumentality Benefits - (Sec. 651) Consolidates and reorganizes certain legislative provisions regarding commissary stores and other military morale, welfare, and recreation activities. Directs the Secretary to operate a worldwide system of commissary stores and a separate worldwide system of exchange stores. (Currently, the Defense Commissary Agency (DCA) is authorized to contract out for such services, and private persons are authorized to operate such stores.) Mandates that: (1) the needs of members on active duty and their dependents be the primary consideration for establishing a store and its location; and (2) the effect on the quality of life of members and their dependents and on the welfare and security of the appropriate military community be the primary consideration in store closure determinations. Requires congressional notification, at least 90 days in advance, in the case of the closure of a store other than one closed under a base closure law. Includes additional items among those authorized to be sold at commissary stores as space permits. Requires the Secretary to apply a uniform surcharge to be used for commissary and exchange store construction, repair, improvement, and maintenance. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) assign an officer on the active-duty list as Director of the DCA; (2) donate unusable commissary store food to charitable and veterans' organizations; (3) impose a charge for collection on dishonored checks; and (4) limit the release to the public of commercially valuable information on customer shopping contained in DCA databases.
Authorizes the Secretary to conduct a test program involving the sale of telephone cards, film, and one-time use cameras. Requires a report to the defense committees on test results. Directs the CG to study the impact that the expansion of merchandise for sale in commissary stores has on the exchange dividend.
(Sec. 652) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 1995 to identify the Department of Defense Nonappropriated Fund Uniform Health Benefits Program as a Federal health benefits program not subject to any State tax, fee, or payment, or State health plan requirement.
Subtitle F: Other Matters - (Sec. 661) Makes members eligible for the reimbursement of expenses incurred for adoption placements made by foreign governments.
(Sec. 662) Qualifies college loans, involving either a basic professional qualifying degree or graduate education in a profession, for repayment under the DOD education loan repayment program.
(Sec. 663) Permits members of the reserves on active duty in connection with a contingency operation to receive pay from civilian employers that would have been paid if the employment had not been interrupted by such active duty.
(Sec. 664) Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to make provisions under such Act allowing temporary relief from certain agricultural loan obligations applicable to military reservists who are mobilized during a war or national emergency or under a call or order to active-duty service for more than 30 days. Forgives loan interest payments during any such period, and defers loan principal payments until after such mobilization or service ends.
(Sec. 665) Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a survey of reserve personnel who serve, or have served, on active duty in support of a contingency operation during the period beginning September 11, 2001, and ending on September 30, 2005, to determine if such personnel experienced a reduction in monthly income during such period compared to the average monthly civilian income of such members during the 12 months preceding their mobilization; and (2) report survey results, together with appropriate recommendations, to Congress and the CG. Requires the CG to submit to Congress an assessment of the survey's findings and the Secretary's recommendations.
(Sec. 666) Directs the Secretary to: (1) study the totality of all current and projected disability benefits available to disabled members and former members of the Armed Forces for service-connected disabilities; (2) based on study results, determine the adequacy of such benefits; and (3) report results to the defense and veterans' committees. Directs the CG to: (1) identify disability benefits payable under Federal, State, and local laws for employees of Federal, State, and local governments; and (2) report results to such committees.
Title VII: Health Care Provisions - Subtitle A: Enhanced Benefits for Reserves - (Sec. 701) Authorizes coverage under TRICARE (a DOD managed health care program) for members of the Selected Reserve who complete active-duty service under a call or order to active duty of more than 30 days on or after September 11, 2001, if the member: (1) served continuously on active duty for 90 or more days pursuant to such call or order; and (2) on or before the release from such duty, enters into an agreement with the Secretary concerned to serve continuously in the Selected Reserve for one or more years following such active duty. Provides such members one year of TRICARE coverage for each 90 consecutive days of extended active-duty service so performed. Terminates any remaining coverage upon termination of Selected Reserve service. Requires a monthly premium for such coverage.
(Sec. 702) Requires the CG to: (1) conduct a study on the feasibility of providing a stipend to members of the Ready Reserve to offset the cost of continuing private health insurance coverage for the member's dependents while the member is on active duty for a period of more than 30 days, with the dependents being ineligible to enroll in the TRICARE program during the duty period and the stipend ending when the member completes such active duty; and (2) report study results to the defense committees.
(Sec. 703) Makes permanent (currently terminates on December 31, 2004) the special TRICARE benefits early-eligibility date for reserve personnel who are issued delayed-effective-date active-duty orders.
(Sec. 704) Authorizes the Secretary to waive deductible payments required by certain TRICARE programs for dependents of certain reserve or National Guard personnel called or ordered to active duty for more than 30 days (currently, less than one year).
(Sec. 705) Authorizes the Secretary to pay additional amounts billed by health care providers in the case of services provided to a dependent of a reserve member ordered to active duty for more than 30 days in support of a contingency operation.
(Sec. 706) Entitles members separated from active duty, and the dependents of such members, to medical and dental care through DOD for 180 days following the member's separation. (Currently, such transitional care is available for up to 120 days, depending upon the length of active-duty service prior to separation.) Directs the Secretary concerned to require each such member to undergo a comprehensive physical examination immediately before such separation (with an examination waiver for members who have undergone a physical within 12 months of such separation).
Subtitle B: Other Benefits Improvements - (Sec. 711) Authorizes enrollment in a TRICARE dental plan for a dependent child of a deceased member if such child was, at the time of the member's death, under the minimum age for enrollment.
(Sec. 712) Requires the CG to: (1) evaluate the effect of the Exceptional Family Member Program on health, education, and support services in selected civilian communities near military installations with a high concentration of Program enrollees; and (2) report evaluation results to the defense committees.
(Sec. 713) Authorizes the Secretary to ensure an effective transition in the furnishing of part-time or intermittent home health care benefits for covered beneficiaries who were receiving such benefits before the establishment of the sub-acute care program.
(Sec. 714) Prohibits the prescription drug cost-sharing requirements for Medicare-eligible military beneficiaries from exceeding such requirements applicable to non-Medicare-eligible beneficiaries.
(Sec. 715) Allows dependents under age 13 who are participating in a military dental plan to be treated by postgraduate dental students in eligible military dental treatment facilities under specified conditions, including treatment compliance with American Dental Association standards. Prohibits the total number of such patients from exceeding 2,000 in a fiscal year.
(Sec. 716) Authorizes the Secretary, with respect to benefits received during the period beginning on July 1, 1999, and ending on December 31, 2004, to waive the collection of payments due for health benefits received under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS), and to continue the provision of such benefits through 2004, in case of a member or dependent who was originally eligible for CHAMPUS benefits, became eligible for hospital insurance benefits under Medicare upon attaining the minimum age, and was unaware of the loss of eligibility for the CHAMPUS benefits after attaining eligibility for the Medicare benefits.
(Sec. 717) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 1995 to include marriage and family therapists under the DOD authority to enter into personal services contracts.
(Sec. 718) Directs the Secretary to establish an oversight advisory committee for the development and implementation of an effective program of chiropractic health care benefits for members serving on active duty. Requires: (1) a committee report to the Secretary; and (2) the Secretary to transmit such report to the defense committees, along with comments and recommendations. Terminates the committee 90 days after the report.
Subtitle C: Planning, Programming, and Management - (Sec. 721) Directs the Secretary to conduct a pilot program during FY 2005-2007 at two or more military installations for testing initiatives that build cooperative health care arrangements and agreements between military installations and local and regional non-military health care systems. Requires an interim and final program report from the Secretary to the defense committees.
(Sec. 722) Directs the Secretary to study the feasibility and desirability of providing that a member retired for a combat-related disability shall be provided reimbursement for expenses incurred by the member, during the two-year period following such retirement, for travel to a military treatment facility for medical care.
(Sec. 723) Requires the CG to study, and report to Congress on, mental health services available to members of the Armed Forces, including: (1) the availability and effectiveness of existing mental health treatment and screening resources; and (2) obstacles preventing members and their families from obtaining needed services.
(Sec. 724) Directs the Secretary to: (1) prescribe DOD policy for providing timely notification to the next of kin of the status of members who are seriously ill or injured in a combat zone; and (2) transmit to Congress a copy of such policy.
(Sec. 725) Revises the process for funding required annual payments into the Department of Defense Medicare-Eligible Retiree Health Care Fund to direct the Secretary of the Treasury, beginning in FY 2006, to make annual payments from the general fund of the Treasury. (Currently, the Secretary of Defense is required to make monthly payments into the Fund.) Requires the Secretary to certify appropriate amounts to the Secretary of the Treasury and submit to the defense committees the amounts so certified. Expresses the sense of Congress with respect to unsubscribed discretionary budget authority that accrues within the national defense budget function as a result of such payments.
(Sec. 726) Revises the grounds for presidential waiver of the requirement of informed consent or the option to refuse participation with respect to the DOD administration of drugs not approved for general public use.
(Sec. 727) Requires the Secretary to develop and submit to the defense committees recommendations for a formal TRICARE regional director selection process.
Subtitle D: Medical Readiness Tracking and Health Surveillance - (Sec. 731) Directs the Secretary to develop a comprehensive plan to improve medical readiness, and DOD tracking of the health status, of members of the Armed Forces throughout their military service and to strengthen medical readiness and tracking before, during, and after overseas deployment. Requires the Secretary to establish a Joint Medical Readiness Oversight Committee to oversee the development and implementation of such plan and to undertake related advisory and assistance services. Requires an annual Committee report.
(Sec. 732) Directs the CG to: (1) carry out a study of the health of reserve members who have been called or ordered to active duty for a period of more than 30 days in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom; and (2) report review results to the defense committees. Requires the Secretary to ensure that individual members and commanders of reserve units fulfill their responsibilities for medical and dental readiness of such members, which may include frequent member health assessments and follow-up care. Directs the Secretary to prescribe, for uniform application throughout the military departments, a policy on the deferral of medical treatment of members pending deployment.
(Sec. 733) Directs the Secretary to carry out a program to: (1) collect baseline health data from all persons entering the Armed Forces; and (2) provide for the computerized compilation and maintenance of such data. Requires blood samples necessary for: (1) predeployment medical examination of a member to be taken within 120 days before such deployment; and (2) postdeployment medical examination to be taken within 30 days after such deployment.
(Sec. 734) Requires the Secretary to: (1) prescribe a policy that requires the records of all medical care provided to a member in a theater of operations to be maintained as part of a complete health record for the member; (2) evaluate the system for the medical tracking and health surveillance of such members and take necessary action to improve such system; and (3) report to the defense committees on actions taken. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a plan for obtaining all records of medical treatment provided to members by U.S. allies in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom; and (2) prescribe a DOD policy on the collection and dissemination of in-theater individual personnel location data.
(Sec. 735) Directs the Secretary to: (1) review and revise DOD classification policies to facilitate the declassification of data that is potentially useful for the monitoring and assessment of the health of members who have been exposed to environmental hazards during overseas deployments; and (2) consult with senior commanders of in-theater forces of the combatant commands in carrying out such review and revision.
(Sec. 736) Directs the Secretary to report to the defense committees on the training in environmental hazards provided by DOD to military medical personnel who are deployable to the field in direct support of combat personnel.
(Sec. 737) Directs the Secretary to prescribe a policy that ensures that anticipated health care needs of members at mobilization installations can be met. Requires the Secretary of a military department, with respect to such a mobilization, to identify and analyze the anticipated health care needs of members before their arrival. Requires the policy established under this section to be implemented on a uniform basis throughout DOD.
(Sec. 738) Requires the Secretary to ensure full implementation among the military departments of the: (1) Medical Readiness Tracking and Health Surveillance Program (as created under this title); and (2) Force Health Protection and Readiness Program.
(Sec. 739) Directs the Secretary to: (1) report annually to the defense committees on DOD's Force Health Protection Quality Assurance Program; and (2) issue annually a report on the compliance by military departments with applicable policies on the recording of health assessment data in military personnel records. Requires the Chief Information Officer of each military department to ensure that the online portal website of that department includes specified health assessment information for its members.
Title VIII: Acquisition Policy, Acquisition Management, and Related Matters - Subtitle A: Acquisition Policy and Management - (Sec. 801) Requires software-related program costs to be included in currently-required quarterly unit cost reports for major defense acquisition programs.
(Sec. 802) Requires the Inspectors General of DOD and the General Services Administration (GSA) to jointly: (1) review policies, procedures, and internal controls of each GSA Client Support Center; and (2) determine whether such Center is compliant with defense procurement requirements or made significant progress in 2004 towards becoming compliant. Limits DOD procurements through a Support Center found not to be compliant or having made such progress. Provides a procurement limitation exception when found necessary in the interests of DOD. Terminates such limitation when a Center becomes compliant.
(Sec. 803) Directs the Secretary to: (1) review all potential mechanisms for procuring commercial satellite services and provide guidance therein to the Director of the Defense Information Systems Agency and the Secretaries of the military departments; and (2) report review results to Congress.
(Sec. 804) Authorizes the head of a defense agency to contract for the performance of acquisition functions closely associated with inherently governmental functions only if the Secretary determines that: (1) the appropriate military or civilian personnel of DOD cannot perform the functions; (2) such personnel are to supervise contractor performance and perform all inherently governmental functions under the contract; and (3) the agency addresses any potential organizational conflict of interest of the contractor in the performance of the functions.
(Sec. 805) Directs the Secretary to require that, whenever a new major defense acquisition program (MDAP) begins development, the defense acquisition authority responsible for that program shall develop a plan, to be known as the sustainment plan, for the existing system that the system under development is intended to replace. Makes plan requirements inapplicable to an MDAP that reaches initial operational capability before October 1, 2008. Outlines plan requirements, including a milestone schedule for the new MDAP and certain analyses of the existing system. Provides MDAP exceptions to such plan requirements. Allows the Secretary to waive any of the above requirements in order to meet national security objectives.
(Sec. 806) Allows members of the National Guard performing certain additional support duties in a State to receive financial assistance when such duties were contracted for under other-than-competitive procedures.
(Sec. 807) Amends the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act to direct the Federal Acquisition Regulation Council to adjust for inflation the dollar thresholds under Federal procurement law in order to maintain the constant dollar value of the threshold. Establishes a petition process for thresholds omitted by the Council.
Subtitle B: Amendments to General Contracting Authorities, Procedures, and Limitations - (Sec. 811) Amends the Bob Stump NDAA for Fiscal Year 2003 to authorize the Secretary to rapidly acquire equipment needed to eliminate a combat capability deficiency that has resulted in combat fatalities, with a goal of awarding a contract for the acquisition of such equipment within 15 days after the Secretary's determination of need. Prohibits such acquisition in an amount more than $100 million in a fiscal year. Requires the Secretary to notify the defense and appropriations committees within 15 days after each use of such authority. Authorizes the waiver of certain conflicting statutes and regulations.
(Sec. 812) Removes the requirement that only employees within GS-13 or above may be selected for a position in the Acquisition Corps of a military department. Includes for the Secretary, in designating critical acquisition positions in DOD, the same personnel positions that the Secretaries of other Federal departments and agencies are required to designate as critical acquisition positions. Requires the Secretary, with respect to any scholarship program conducted in connection with the employment of a person in a critical position, to enter into an agreement that sets forth scholarship terms and conditions.
(Sec. 813) Authorizes a five-year DOD multiyear task and delivery order contract to be extended for one or more successive periods, but prohibits the total period from exceeding ten years unless the head of an agency determines in writing that exceptional circumstances necessitate a longer period. Requires an annual report from the Secretary to Congress, after the end of FY 2005 through 2009, concerning each contract that was extended to a total of more than ten years.
(Sec. 814) Directs the head of the agency concerned, with respect to proposed multiyear defense procurement or services contracts, to provide written notification to the defense and appropriations committees if the budget for the contract does not include proposed funding up to the contract cancellation ceiling.
(Sec. 815) Increases from: (1) $50 million to $75 million the threshold for requiring approval of the senior procurement executive on the use of DOD procurement procedures other than competitive procedures; and (2) $500,000 to $1 million the threshold for requiring defense contractors to provide specified employee information to certain cooperative agreement organizations.
(Sec. 817) Amends the Clinger-Cohen Act to extend through 2007 the authority for the use of simplified acquisition procedures in the purchase of commercial items valued at $5 million or less.
(Sec. 818) States that current exceptions to the required submission of certain cost or pricing data by defense contractors shall not apply (thereby requiring such submission) to cost or pricing data on noncommercial modifications of a commercial item that are expected to cost, in the aggregate, more than $500,000 or five percent of the total contract price, whichever is greater.
(Sec. 819) Prohibits delegation below the level of an Assistant Secretary of Defense of the authority to make certain determinations relating to payments to defense contractors for business restructuring costs expected to exceed $25 million over a five-year period.
(Sec. 820) Authorizes the Secretary to make available to United Services Organization (USO) access to GSA supplies and services through the Federal Supply Schedule.
(Sec. 821) Amends the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration Program Act of 1988 to include landscaping and pest control services industry groups as participants under the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration Program.
(Sec. 822) Amends the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act to increase the thresholds below which DOD may use streamlined acquisition procedures for purchases outside the United States in support of a contingency operation or to facilitate defense against or recovery from nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological attack against the United States.
Subtitle C: United States Defense Industrial Base Provisions - (Sec. 831) Directs the Secretary to ensure that DOD policies and practices reflect the goal of establishing an equitable trading relationship between the United States and its foreign defense trade partners, including ensuring that U.S. firms and U.S. employment in the defense sector are not disadvantaged by unilateral procurement practices by foreign governments, such as the imposition by such governments of offset agreements in a manner that undermines the U.S. defense industrial base. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a comprehensive defense acquisition trade policy; and (2) review and modify existing acquisition policies and strategies in order to eliminate any adverse effects of such offset agreements.
(Sec. 832) Directs the Secretary to delay the phase-out of the restriction on acquisition of polyacrylonitrile carbon fiber from foreign sources until 30 days after the Secretary submits to the defense committees an assessment of the domestic and international industrial structure that produces such fibers, as well as product market trends.
Subtitle D: Extensions of Temporary Program Authorities - (Sec. 841) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 1991 to extend through FY 2013 the mentor-protege program. Directs the Secretary to review, and report to the defense committees on, program implementation.
(Sec. 842) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 1991 to include for participation in the mentor-protege program: (1) a small business owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans; and (2) a qualified HUBZone (heavily underutilized business zone) small business.
(Sec. 843) Amends the NDAA for: (1) Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991 to extend, through FY 2010, a test program for the negotiation of comprehensive small business subcontracting plans; and (2) Fiscal Year 1998 to extend, through FY 2009, a pilot program on the sale of manufactured articles and services of certain Army industrial facilities.
Subtitle E: Other Acquisition Matters - (Sec. 851) Directs the Secretary to: (1) review DOD policies, procedures, practices, and penalties relating to employees of defense contractors for purposes of ensuring DOD compliance with a specified executive order which prohibits entering into contracts with contractors not in compliance with the Immigration and Nationality Act; (2) conduct a demonstration project for promoting greater contracting opportunities for contractors who are in compliance with such Act; and (3) report to the defense committees a review of the demonstration project, together with appropriate recommendations on ensuring compliance with such executive order.
(Sec. 852) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004 to make certain Federal budgetary requirements inapplicable to a DOD settlement of a financial account for a contract for the procurement of property or services which is made under special temporary contract closeout authority.
(Sec. 853) Makes provisions of the Randolph-Sheppard Act (requirements concerning the operation of vending facilities by the blind in Federal buildings) inapplicable to any military dining (mess) facility.
(Sec. 854) Prohibits an agency head from procuring goods or services through a contract entered into by an agency outside of DOD for an amount greater than the simplified acquisition threshold unless the procurement is done under agency procedures for reviewing and approving the use of such contracts. Makes this section inapplicable to procurement contracts for certain services, including: (1) printing, binding, or blank-book work; and (2) services under programs of the Library of Congress Fiscal Operations Improvement Act of 2000. Requires each procuring agency head, for FY 2005 and 2006, to report to the Secretary on service charges imposed on purchases made for an amount greater than the simplified acquisition threshold through a contract entered into by an agency outside of DOD.
(Sec. 855) Requires the Secretary of the Air Force, in the selection of a provider of integrated support for the aerial refueling aircraft fleet, to: (1) perform analyses of alternatives of using Federal Government or private contractor personnel to provide such support; and (2) select the appropriate provider in accordance with requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act.
Title IX: Department of Defense Organization and Management - Subtitle A: Duties and Functions of Department of Defense - (Sec. 901) Directs the Secretary to: (1) study the roles and authorities of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering; and (2) report study results to the defense committees.
(Sec. 902) Includes the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy within the membership of the Nuclear Weapons Council.
Subtitle B: Space Activities - (Sec. 911) Requires the Secretary to: (1) conduct a comprehensive review of the U.S. space posture over the posture review period (the period beginning one year after the enactment of this Act and ending ten years thereafter); and (2) report review results to the defense and intelligence committees.
(Sec. 912) Directs the Secretary to contract with a federally funded research and development center to establish a panel on the future national security space launch requirements of the United States, including means of meeting such requirements. Requires the panel to report results to the Secretary and the defense, appropriations, and intelligence committees. Terminates the panel 16 months after its first meeting. Provides funding.
(Sec. 913) Requires the Secretary to ensure that operationally responsive national security payloads and buses of DOD for space satellite services are planned, programmed, and budgeted for as a separate, dedicated DOD program element. Directs the Secretary to assign management authority for such program element to the Director of the Office of Force Transformation.
(Sec. 914) Makes Federal disclosure requirements under the Freedom of Information Act inapplicable with respect to land remote sensing information collected by the United States, including any such information provided to a State, local, or tribal government. Requires the head of each agency having or supplying such information to such a government to take all necessary steps to protect such information from public disclosure.
Subtitle C: Intelligence-Related Matters - (Sec. 921) Extends through 2006 (currently, 2004) the authority of the Secretary to engage in commercial activities as security (cover) for intelligence collection activities abroad.
(Sec. 922) Authorizes the Director of the National Security Agency to carry out, for up to six years after the enactment of this Act, a pilot program on cryptologic service training for the intelligence community.
Subtitle D: Other Matters - (Sec. 931) Amends the Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1986 to require the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics and the Secretary of the Army to jointly prepare, and from time to time update, a strategic plan for future activities for destruction of the U.S. stockpile of lethal chemical agents and munitions. Requires the Secretary of Defense to annually submit to the defense committees the most recently updated plan.
(Sec. 932) Directs the Secretary to establish criteria for determining the types of critical information required to be made known expeditiously to senior decision-makers in DOD, including requirements for the transmission of such information to such senior civilian and military DOD officials as the Secretary considers appropriate.
Title X: General Provisions - Subtitle A: Financial Matters - (Sec. 1001) Authorizes the Secretary to transfer up to $3.5 billion of the amounts made available to DOD in this Division for FY 2005 between any such authorizations for that fiscal year, with limitations. Requires congressional notification of each transfer.
(Sec. 1002) Provides a new limitation on the total amount authorized to be contributed by the Secretary in FY 2005 for the common-funded budgets of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (rather than the maximum amount otherwise applicable under the 1998 baseline limitation). Allocates for such purpose amounts authorized under titles II and III of this Act.
(Sec. 1003) Requires that, in any case in which the amount requested in the President's budget for a fiscal year for a DOD O&M program, project, or activity is different from the amount appropriated for that program, project, or activity, the O&M justification documents supporting that budget shall identify the appropriated amount and the difference between that amount and the amount requested. Requires separate O&M budget justification with respect to Navy subactivities for ship depot maintenance and for intermediate ship maintenance. Directs the Secretary to report to the defense and appropriations committees setting forth component elements of "Other Costs" and "Other Contracts" as set forth in the FY 2006 budget justification documents.
(Sec. 1004) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to license trademarks, service marks, certification marks, and collective marks owned or controlled by such Secretary and to expend such fees for trademark and licensing costs.
(Sec. 1005) Repeals funding restrictions concerning the development of medical countermeasures against biological warfare threats.
(Sec. 1006) Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense committees on the foreign currency exchange rate projection used in annual DOD budget presentations. Requires the CG to review such report and submit review results to the defense committees.
(Sec. 1007) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004 to increase from $2.5 billion to $2.8 billion the amount that the Secretary, in the national interest, may transfer between any DOD authorizations for that fiscal year.
(Sec. 1008) Provides the FY 2004 funding level to be utilized by the Secretary of Commerce with respect to a National Institute of Standards and Technology account for industrial technology services.
(Sec. 1009) Prohibits transfers out of a working capital fund, or between or among such funds, unless the Secretary has notified the defense and appropriations committees.
(Sec. 1010) Authorizes the Secretary to charge fees for providing information in the Federal Logistics Information System through Defense Logistics Information Services to a department or agency outside of DOD, or to a State, political subdivision of a State, or any person.
Subtitle B: Naval Vessels and Shipyards - (Sec. 1011) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to award contracts for the dismantling of vessels stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on a net-cost basis. Allows contractors to retain proceeds from the sale of scrap and reusable equipment from such vessels.
(Sec. 1012) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy, in acquiring Navy service craft and boats, to exchange or sell similar but obsolete Navy service craft and boats and to apply the proceeds received to the acquisition price.
(Sec. 1013) Authorizes the President to transfer: (1) on a grant basis the destroyer O'BANNON to the Government of Chile and the guided missile frigate GEORGE PHILIP to the Government of Portugal; and (2) on a sale basis the destroyer FLETCHER to the Government of Chile and the dock landing ship ANCHORAGE to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States. Prohibits the vessels transferred on a grant basis from counting against the aggregate value limit of excess defense articles transferred in a fiscal year under provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Requires: (1) all costs of transfers made on a grant basis to be borne by the recipients; and (2) any pre-transfer vessel repair or refurbishment to be performed at a U.S. shipyard, including a Navy shipyard. Terminates the vessel transfer authority two years after enactment of this Act.
(Sec. 1014) Directs the Secretary to provide for an independent study of the cost effectiveness of the Navy ship construction program. Requires the study to address near term improvements in construction efficiency. Directs the: (1) study group to propose a U.S. shipbuilding infrastructure modernization plan; and (2) Secretary to report study results to the defense and appropriations committees.
(Sec. 1015) Prohibits the Secretary of the Navy from disposing of the decommissioned destroyer ex-Edson before October 1, 2007, to an entity that is not a nonprofit organization unless such Secretary first determines that there is no available nonprofit organization that meets the criteria for such donation.
Subtitle C: Counterdrug Matters - (Sec. 1021) Authorizes the Secretary, during FY 2005 and 2006, to use funds made available to DOD for drug interdiction and counter-drug activities to provide assistance to the Government of Colombia to: (1) support a unified campaign against narcotics trafficking; (2) support a unified campaign against activities by designated terrorist organizations; and (3) take actions to protect human health and welfare in emergency situations, including undertaking rescue operations. Provides limitations on the number of U.S. personnel assigned to Colombia during such fiscal years in support of Plan Colombia. Prohibits any U.S. Armed Forces, civilian employee, or civilian contractor personnel stationed or employed in Colombia from participating in any combat operations in connection with such assistance, except in self-defense or rescue operations. Requires a report from the Secretary of State on relationships between terrorist organizations in Colombia and foreign governments or organizations.
(Sec. 1022) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the President should make the substantial reduction of illegal drug trafficking in Afghanistan a priority in the Global War on Terrorism; (2) the Secretary should expand cooperation with the Government of Afghanistan and international organizations involved in counter-drug activities to assist in providing a secure environment for counter-drug personnel in Afghanistan; and (3) the United States should undertake additional efforts to reduce illegal drug trafficking and related activities that provide financial support for terrorist organizations in Afghanistan and neighboring countries. Requires a joint report from the Secretaries of Defense and State to Congress on: (1) progress made toward substantially reducing poppy cultivation and heroin production capabilities in Afghanistan; and (2) the extent to which profits from illegal drug activity in Afghanistan are used to financially support terrorist organizations and groups seeking to undermine the Government of Afghanistan.
Subtitle D: Matters Relating to Museums and Commemorations - (Sec. 1031) Recognizes the Liberty Memorial Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, as America's National World War I Museum.
(Sec. 1032) Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a program to: (1) commemorate the 60th anniversary of World War II; and (2) coordinate, support, and facilitate other such programs of the Federal Government, State and local governments, and other persons. Establishes the Department of Defense 60th Anniversary of World War II Commemoration Account for funding such activities. Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense committees on Account expenditures. Authorizes the Secretary to accept voluntary services in furtherance of the program.
(Sec. 1033) Requires an annual report from the Secretary to Congress on DOD operations and financial support for military museums.
Subtitle E: Reports - (Sec. 1041) Requires quarterly reports from the Secretary to the defense and appropriations committees containing a detailed accounting of costs incurred for operations of the Global War on Terrorism.
(Sec. 1042) Requires the Secretary to report to the defense and appropriations committees on the conduct of military operations during the post-major combat operations phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
(Sec. 1043) Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a study of the extent to which members assigned to duty in support of contingency operations receive training in preparation for post-conflict operations, and to evaluate the quality of such training; and (2) report study results to the defense committees.
(Sec. 1044) Directs the Secretary to report to the defense and appropriations committees on the need for one or more national centers of excellence for unmanned aerial and ground vehicles.
(Sec. 1045) Directs the Secretary to: (1) study whether the practice of using two alternating crews for the manning of ballistic missile submarines continues to be justified under changed circumstances since the end of the Cold War; (2) determine whether such practice should be continued, modified, or terminated; and (3) report such determination to the defense committees.
(Sec. 1046) Directs the Secretary to assess, and report to Congress on, DOD programs for the prepositioning of materiel and equipment.
(Sec. 1047) Directs the Secretary to report to the defense committees on the activities of al Qaeda and associated groups in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Subtitle F: Defense Against Terrorism and Other Domestic Security Matters - (Sec. 1051) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to accept: (1) communications equipment for use in coordinating joint response and recovery operations with public safety agencies in the event of a disaster; and (2) services related to the operation and maintenance of such equipment.
(Sec. 1052) Directs the Secretary to: (1) determine the feasibility and advisability of dedicating an airlift capability of the Armed Forces on a full-time basis to the support of any homeland defense operations; (2) conduct a study of DOD plans and capabilities for meeting contingent requirements for transporting emergency response teams and packages to disasters; and (3) report study results to the defense committees.
(Sec. 1053) Requires the Secretary to submit to the defense committees a plan setting forth a systematic approach for ensuring the survivability of defense critical systems upon contamination by chemical or biological agents.
Subtitle G: Personnel Security Matters - (Sec. 1061) Authorizes individuals conducting personnel security investigations for Federal employment and access to national security information to request the chief driver licensing official of a State to obtain the use of the National Driver Register for an individual's driver information. Limits: (1) the scope of such request to employment for which national security access is required; and (2) the use of employee information received by a Federal department or agency to uses in conjunction with an authorized investigation.
(Sec. 1062) Authorizes (current law prohibits) delegation of decisions on the granting of meritorious security-clearance waivers for certain otherwise prohibited individuals. Allows waivers to be granted only under authority of an executive order or other guidance issued by the President.
Subtitle H: Transportation-Related Matters - (Sec. 1071) Authorizes the Secretary, under specified circumstances, to use military aircraft to transport mail and parcels to, from, and between overseas locations.
(Sec. 1072) Reorganizes certain Federal Armed Forces provisions relating to the control and supervision of transportation within DOD. Empowers the Secretary (currently, the appropriate department Secretary) with authority over all such transportation. Repeals contrary Federal laws.
(Sec. 1073) Directs the Secretary to: (1) evaluate DOD procurement practices in the award of service contracts for domestic freight transportation for security-sensitive cargo to determine whether such practices are in the best interests of DOD; and (2) report evaluation results to the defense committees.
Subtitle I: Other Matters - (Sec. 1081) Provides liability protection for persons providing voluntary maritime-related services on behalf of DOD.
(Sec. 1082) Expresses the sense of Congress that the DOD policy restricting media coverage of the transfer of the remains of deceased members of the Armed Forces appropriately protects the privacy of the members' families and friends and is consistent with U.S. constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
(Sec. 1083) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to convey to a named individual all U.S. rights and interest to a F3A-1 Brewster Corsair aircraft.
(Sec. 1084) Makes various technical and clerical amendments under Federal armed forces provisions.
(Sec. 1085) Prohibits the Secretary from reducing or eliminating search and rescue capabilities at any military installation in the United States unless the Secretary first certifies to the defense committees that equivalent search and rescue will be provided without interruption and with the policies and objectives set forth in the United States National Search and Rescue Plan entered into force on January 1, 1999.
(Sec. 1086) Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to purchase ten aircraft for the National Interagency Fire Center for use in aerial firefighting. Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 1087) Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education, in considering assurances made by an institution that it is an Hispanic-serving institution of higher education, to consider such assurances as meeting the Hispanic-serving requirements unless the Secretary determines, based on a preponderance of the evidence, that such assurances do not meet the requirements.
(Sec. 1088) Amends the Federal criminal code to include within military extraterritorial jurisdiction a civilian or contractor employee of any Federal agency or provisional authority to the extent such employment relates to the support of DOD missions overseas.
(Sec. 1090) Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to: (1) extend through FY 2005 the authority of Federal agencies to enter into contracts for energy savings and conservation; and (2) include water and wastewater treatment and water conservation measures within the definitions and purposes of energy savings and energy savings contracts under such Act. Directs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) complete a review of the Energy Savings Performance Contract to identify obstacles that prevent Federal agencies from fully utilizing the program; and (2) report review results to Congress. Validates any Federal energy savings contract entered into between October 1, 2003 (the previous termination date) and the date of enactment of this Act.
(Sec. 1091) Expresses the sense of Congress that, among other things: (1) the abuses inflicted upon detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, Iraq, are inconsistent with the professionalism and training required of the U.S. military; (2) the abuse of persons in U.S. custody in Iraq is condemned and deplored by the American people; and (3) no detainee shall be subject to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment that is prohibited by the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States.
(Sec. 1092) Directs the Secretary to: (1) ensure that policies are prescribed regarding procedures for DOD and DOD contractor personnel to treat persons detained by the U.S. Government in a humane manner consistent with international obligations (such as the Geneva Conventions) and U.S. laws; and (2) certify that all Federal employees and civilian contractors engaged in the interrogation of individuals have fulfilled an annual training requirement on the law of war, the Geneva Conventions, and U.S. obligations under international law.
(Sec. 1093) Requires specified reports from the Secretary to the defense committees on regulations, policies, and orders adopted, along with other steps taken, to implement the requirements of the previous two sections concerning the humane U.S. treatment of detainees.
(Sec. 1094) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Secretary should make every protection available to Army Specialist Joseph Darby (who alerted his superiors of prisoner abuses at Abu Ghraib prison) and others who demonstrate such courage; and (2) Joseph Darby should be appropriately commended by the Secretary of the Army.
Title XI: Civilian Personnel Matters - (Sec. 1101) Provides for the continuation of Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) coverage for up to 24 months for a Federal employee who is: (1) currently enrolled in the FEHBP; and (2) as a member of the reserves, called or ordered to active duty in support of a contingency operation and serves on such duty for more than 30 consecutive days.
(Sec. 1102) Revises Federal provisions which authorize the Secretary to pay foreign language proficiency pay for a DOD employee certified as proficient in a foreign language deemed necessary for national security interests and whose duties require such proficiency to repeal the requirement that the individual perform such duties during a contingency operation.
(Sec. 1103) Makes civilian intelligence personnel pay rates equal to the rates provided for comparable positions in DOD, including Senior Executive positions. Subjects the Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service to a performance appraisal system certified by the Secretary as making meaningful distinctions based on relative performance.
(Sec. 1104) Provides for pay parity for senior executives in defense nonappropriated fund instrumentalities with the pay of DOD employees in the Senior Executive Service or other senior executive positions.
(Sec. 1105) Directs the Secretary to carry out a pilot program to provide financial assistance (scholarships) for education in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology skills and disciplines that are critical to DOD national security functions and needed in the DOD workforce. Requires: (1) a written agreement by scholarship recipients for a period of obligated service with DOD following such education; (2) recipient refunds for any unserved periods of obligated service; and (3) reporting of a plan for expanding and improving such pilot program to improve recruitment and retention and meet DOD requirements for its science and engineering workforce. Authorizes Federal agencies to appoint candidates: (1) for positions where there exists a severe shortage or there is a critical need; or (2) who participate in the scholarship program.
(Sec. 1106) Directs the Secretary to submit to the defense and intelligence committees a plan for expanding and improving the DOD national security foreign language workforce so as to improve recruitment and retention and meet DOD foreign language workforce requirements on both a short- and long-term basis.
(Sec. 1107) Requires the Under Secretaries of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics and for Personnel and Readiness to jointly: (1) develop a plan for effective utilization of their flexible personnel management authorities with respect to DOD laboratories; and (2) submit the plan to the defense committees.
Title XII: Matters Relating to Other Nations - Subtitle A: Matters Relating to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Global War on Terrorism - (Sec. 1201) Authorizes, during FY 2005, the use of up to $300 million from DOD O&M funds to provide funds for the Commanders' Emergency Response Program for enabling military commanders in Iraq to respond to urgent humanitarian relief and reconstruction requirements, and for a similar program to assist the people of Afghanistan. Requires quarterly reports from the Secretary to the defense and appropriations committees on any funds so used. Authorizes the Secretary to waive any provision of law that would prohibit, restrict, limit, or otherwise constrain the exercise of such authority. Requires the Secretary to report to the defense committees identifying any such provisions of law.
(Sec. 1202) Authorizes the Secretary to provide assistance in FY 2005 to Iraq and Afghanistan military and security forces solely to enhance their ability to combat terrorism and support U.S. or coalition military operations in such countries. Limits to $500 million the cost of such assistance. Directs the Secretary to notify the defense and appropriations committees at least 15 days in advance of such assistance.
(Sec. 1203) Amends the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense and Reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, 2004 to redesignate the Inspector General of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) as the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIG). Replaces references to: (1) the heads of the CPA with the Secretaries of State and Defense; and (2) the CPA with the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund. Requires the SIG to coordinate with, and receive the cooperation of, the inspectors general for DOD, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the State Department. Revises due dates for certain reports required from the SIG. Revises the date for termination of the Office of the SIG.
(Sec. 1204) Sets forth reporting requirements concerning the strategy of the U.S. and coalition forces for stabilizing Iraq.
(Sec. 1205) Directs the Secretary to: (1) issue guidance on the management of contractors that support deployed forces; and (2) direct the Secretaries of the military departments to develop procedures to ensure implementation of the guidance. Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense committees after the issuance of such guidance.
(Sec. 1206) Directs the Secretary to report to the defense committees on contractors supporting deployed forces and reconstruction efforts in Iraq.
(Sec. 1207) Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State should seek to conclude a memorandum of understanding with the Interim Government of Iraq to ensure U.S. access to all documents in their possession related to the United Nations (UN) Oil-for-Food Program. Requires such Secretary to urge the UN Secretary General to provide all audits and core documents relating to such Program. Expresses the sense of Congress that the CG have complete access to financial information relating to the UN, including information concerning such Program. Directs the CG to conduct a review of such Program.
(Sec. 1208) Authorizes the Secretary to expend up to $25 million in each of FY 2005 through 2007 to provide support to foreign forces, irregular forces, groups, or individuals engaged in supporting or facilitating ongoing military operations by U.S. special operations forces to combat terrorism. Requires an annual report on the support provided.
Subtitle B: Counterproliferation Matters - (Sec. 1211) Amends the Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1996 to authorize the Secretary to carry out certain counterproliferation training programs in a country in which the Secretary determines that there exists a significant threat of the unauthorized transfer and transportation of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons or related materials.
(Sec. 1212) Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States: (1) should vigorously pursue initiatives aimed at eliminating, reducing, or retarding the proliferation of ballistic missiles and related technologies; and (2) and the international community should continue to support and strengthen established international accords and efforts designed toward such elimination, reduction, or retardation.
(Sec. 1213) Commends the President for steps taken to continue support for the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Nuclear Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction, and using the Partnership to coordinate nonproliferation projects in Libya, Iraq, and other countries. Urges the President to undertake specified activities to further Partnership efforts.
(Sec. 1214) Requires a report from the Secretary to Congress on the collaborative measures that the United States and the Russian Federation could take to reduce the risks that a nuclear ballistic missile could be launched as the result of an accident, misinformation, miscalculation, or unauthorized use.
Subtitle C: Other Matters - (Sec. 1221) Extends the authority of members of the Armed Forces to provide, as humanitarian assistance, the detection and clearance in a foreign country of landmines to include the detection and clearance of other explosive remnants of war.
(Sec. 1222) Amends the Thurmond Act to expand the definition of a "Communist Chinese military company" for purposes of being subject, while operating in the United States, to certain presidential authorities under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
(Sec. 1223) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to conduct a program under which members of the naval service of any of the member nations of NATO may be assigned to U.S. commands to work on submarine vessel safety and rescue systems and procedures. Limits the costs payable for such personnel. Terminates program authority at the end of FY 2008.
(Sec. 1224) Makes certain DOD O&M funds available in FY 2005 for the participation of new NATO member nations (Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia) in the exercises and programs of NATO's Partnership for Peace program.
(Sec. 1225) Requires the Secretary of State to expeditiously process any application for the export of defense items to the Governments of Australia and the United Kingdom without referral to any other Federal department or agency, except when the item is classified or when exceptional circumstances apply.
(Sec. 1226) Directs the Secretary to: (1) study the advisability and feasibility of establishing procedures for streamlining the export licensing review process for missile defense items and for providing major project authorizations for programs related to missile defense; and (2) report study results to the defense and foreign relations committees.
Title XIII: Cooperative Threat Reduction With States of the Former Soviet Union - (Sec. 1301) Specifies the cooperative threat reduction (CTR) programs to be funded through O&M funds provided under this Act. Makes funds appropriated for such purposes available for three years. Allocates such funds among specified CTR programs. Prohibits such funds from being used for purposes other than those specified until 30 days after the Secretary reports to Congress on the new purposes. Provides limited authority to vary allocated amounts in the national interest, after congressional notification.
(Sec. 1303) Extends through 2006 the authority of the President to waive certain preconditions established under the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2000 with respect to funding for a chemical weapons destruction facility in Russia if the President certifies to Congress why the waiver is important to U.S. national security interests.
(Sec. 1304) Amends the Strom Thurmond NDAA for Fiscal Year 1999 to require the inclusion in annual DOD budget justification materials of certain descriptive summaries of CTR programs, projects, activities, and assistance.
Title XIV: Sunken Military Craft - (Sec. 1401) Mandates that any right, title, and interest of the United States in and to any U.S. sunken military craft shall not be extinguished by the passage of time, regardless of when the craft sank.
(Sec. 1402) Prohibits any person from engaging, or attempting to engage, in any activity directed at a sunken military craft that disturbs, removes, or injures any such craft, except as authorized by a permit under this title, regulations issued under this title, or otherwise by law. Provides limitations and exceptions.
(Sec. 1403) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to issue permits with respect to such activity for archaeological, historical, or educational purposes. Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to carry out this section with respect to any foreign sunken military craft located in U.S. waters.
(Sec. 1404) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to assess a civil penalty of up to $100,000 for each violation of this title.
(Sec. 1405) Provides liability for damages caused in violation of this title.
(Sec. 1407) Encourages the Secretary of State to negotiate and conclude bilateral and multilateral agreements with foreign countries with regard to sunken military aircraft consistent with this title.
Title XV: Authorization for Increased Costs Due to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom - (Sec. 1501) Authorizes appropriations, for additional costs due to Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, for FY 2005 for: (1) the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, and Air Force for aircraft, missiles, weapons and tracked combat vehicles, ammunition, National Guard and reserve equipment, and for other procurement; (2) defense-wide procurement; (3) O&M; (4) the Defense Working Capital Program; (5) the Iraq Freedom Fund; (6) the Defense Health Program; and (7) military personnel.
(Sec. 1511) Authorizes the Secretary, in the national interest, to transfer up to $1.5 billion of the amounts made available to DOD in this title for FY 2005 between any such authorizations for that fiscal year, with limitations. Requires congressional notification of each transfer.
Division B: Military Construction Authorizations - Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 - Title XXI [sic]: Army - (Sec. 2101) 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 such Secretary to construct or acquire family housing units, carry out architectural planning and design activities, and improve existing military family housing in specified amounts. Authorizes appropriations to the Army for fiscal years after 2004 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. 2105) Amends the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year: (1) 2004 to increase the amounts authorized for military construction projects at Fort Stewart, Georgia, and Fort Drum, New York; and (2) 2003 to increase the amount authorized for a project at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
Title XXII: Navy - (Sec. 2201) Provides, with respect to the Navy, authorizations paralleling those provided for the Army under the previous title.
Title XXIII: Air Force - (Sec. 2301) Provides, with respect to the Air Force, authorizations paralleling those provided for the Army under title XXI.
Title XXIV: Defense Agencies - (Sec. 2401) 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 improve existing military family housing units and carry out certain energy conservation projects. Authorizes appropriations to DOD for fiscal years after 2004 for military construction, land acquisition, and military family housing functions of DOD. Limits the total cost of construction projects authorized by this title.
Title XXV: North Atlantic Treaty Organization Security Investment Program - (Sec. 2501) Authorizes the Secretary to make contributions for the NATO Security Investment Program and authorizes appropriations for fiscal years after 2004 for such Program.
Title XXVI: Guard and Reserve Forces Facilities - (Sec. 2601) Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years after 2004 for National Guard and reserve forces for acquisition, architectural and engineering services, and construction of facilities.
Title XXVII: Expiration and Extension of Authorizations - (Sec. 2701) Terminates all authorizations contained in titles XXI through XXVI of this Act on October 1, 2007, or the date of enactment of an Act authorizing funds for military construction for FY 2008, whichever is later, with exceptions. Extends certain prior-year military construction projects.
Title XXVIII: General Provisions - Subtitle A: Military Construction Program and Military Family Housing Changes - (Sec. 2801) Increases from $5 million to $7.5 million the threshold for minor military construction projects before approval is required by the Secretary concerned. Decreases from $10 million to $7.5 million the threshold at which congressional notification is required for the use of O&M funds for military facility repairs.
(Sec. 2802) Requires annual reports from the Secretary identifying general or flag officer quarters for which total operation, maintenance, and repair costs are expected to exceed $35,000 for the next fiscal year. Directs the Secretary concerned, with respect to each such unit under their jurisdiction, to submit to the defense and appropriations committees at least 21 days in advance a justification of the need for the maintenance or repair project and an estimate of its cost. Directs the Secretary to report to such committees: (1) an analysis of anticipated needs in the National Capital Region for family housing units for general and flag officers; and (2) a worldwide inventory of units used, or intended for use, for such officers, and the annual expenditures for FY 2002-2004 for O&M, utilities, leases, and repairs of such units.
(Sec. 2803) Decreases from 21 to 14 days, if provided in an electronic format, the required prior congressional notification of deviations from authorized cost variations for military construction and family housing projects.
(Sec. 2804) Directs the Secretary to develop common guidance and criteria to be used by the Secretary concerned to: (1) assess the vulnerability of U.S. military installations to terrorist attack; (2) develop construction standards designed to reduce such vulnerability; (3) prepare and carry out military construction projects, such as gate and fenceline construction, to improve the physical security of such installations; and (4) assist in prioritizing such projects within the military construction budget of that department. Requires: (1) vulnerability assessments to be conducted at regular intervals; and (2) the Secretary to include certain information with respect to such assessments within annual DOD budget justification materials submitted to Congress. Requires the Secretary to certify that, since September 11, 2001, assessments regarding the vulnerability of military installations to terrorist attacks have been undertaken for all major military installations.
(Sec. 2805) Repeals: (1) certain limitations on the use of alternative authority for the acquisition or construction of military housing; and (2) the authority to enter into a contract for such acquisition or construction.
(Sec. 2806) Provides additional reporting requirements with respect to alternative authority for the acquisition or improvement of military housing.
(Sec. 2807) Authorizes the Secretary concerned, through FY 2007, to accelerate design efforts for military construction projects using design-build (two-phase) selection procedures. Directs the Secretary to report to the defense and appropriations committees on the usefulness of such authority in expediting the design and construction of such projects.
(Sec. 2808) Revises notification thresholds and other requirements with respect to expenditures or contributions for the acquisition of reserve facilities, including the authority to carry out small projects using O&M funds.
(Sec. 2809) Allows the Secretary to authorize each department Secretary to acquire a facility (or facility addition) needed to satisfy military requirements for a reserve component by carrying out an exchange of an existing facility through an agreement with a State, local government, local authority, or private entity. Requires equal value exchanges. Provides minimum requirements for replacement facilities. Requires 30 days' advance notification to the defense committees prior to entering into any such agreement. Provides temporary authority to include cash equalization payments as part of any such exchange (requiring a report from the Secretary to such committees on any such payments).
(Sec. 2810) Amends the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 to extend through FY 2005 the limited authority to use O&M funds for military construction projects outside the United States. Allows such extension only if all quarterly reports concerning such projects originally required for FY 2004 in such Act are submitted to the appropriate congressional committees.
(Sec. 2811) Requires the Secretary, when considering any military project for the construction of a new medical treatment facility in the United States or a U.S. territory or possession, to consult with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs regarding the feasibility of carrying out a joint project to construct a facility that serves as a health-resources sharing facility between the two departments. Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to undertake the same consultation with respect to a possible Department of Veterans Affairs facility.
Subtitle B: Real Property and Facilities Administration - (Sec. 2821) Consolidates and reorganizes existing provisions relating to DOD real property transactions and the use of DOD facilities.
(Sec. 2822) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to enter into an agreement with the Army Historical Foundation for the design, construction, and operation of a facility or group of facilities at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, for the National Museum of the United States Army. Authorizes the Commander of the United States Army Center of Military History to accept gifts and bequests valued at up to $250,000 for the benefit of the Museum or the Center.
(Sec. 2823) Provides that if real property owned by the United States and used as a Navy homeport is subject to a reversionary interest of any kind, the Secretary of the Navy may enter into an agreement with the holder to acquire the reversionary interest with in-kind consideration, and thereby clear U.S. title to the property. Prohibits cash payments for the acquisition of such reversionary interests.
Subtitle C: Base Closure and Realignment - (Sec. 2831) Establishes March 15 of the base closure round year as the final deadline for revision of the force structure plan or infrastructure inventory.
(Sec. 2832) Outlines the final selection criteria to be used by the Secretary in making recommendations for the closure or realignment of military installations inside the United States during the next base closure round, including: (1) current and future mission capabilities and the impact on operational readiness of the total force of DOD; (2) the availability and condition of land, facilities, and associated air and water space at both existing and potential receiving locations; and (3) the ability to accommodate contingency, mobilization, surge, and future total force requirements at both existing and potential receiving locations. Requires the Secretary, in making recommendations for base closures or realignments, to give priority to the above criteria. Allows only such final selection criteria to be used in making recommendations for closures or realignments inside the United States in 2005.
(Sec. 2833) Amends the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 to repeal the authority of the Secretary to recommend that installations be placed in inactive status (and therefore protected from closure or realignment) during a round of base closures and realignments.
(Sec. 2834) Requires the consent of at least seven commissioners of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission in order to recommend the closure or realignment of an installation not recommended by the Secretary for closure or realignment.
Subtitle D: Land Conveyances - Part I: Army Conveyances - (Sec. 2841) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to convey to: (1) an entity selected by the Board of Commissioners of Johnson County, Kansas, the Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant in Kansas, for economic development and revitalization; (2) Bi-County Solid Waste Management System a portion of Fort Campbell, Tennessee, to permit BI-County to expand a landfill facility; (3) the State of Louisiana a portion of the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant in Doyline, Louisiana, for military training purposes; and (4) the State of Missouri a portion of Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, for the establishment of a State-operated veterans' cemetery.
(Sec. 2845) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to transfer to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs administrative jurisdiction over a portion of the Defense Supply Center in Columbus, Ohio, for use as a new outpatient clinic for veterans' medical services.
(Sec. 2846) Deems various parcels of real property within the boundaries of Umatilla Chemical Depot, Oregon, no longer suitable for return to the public domain, and transfers such parcels to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Army for purposes of management and disposal under the base closure laws.
(Sec. 2847) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1999 to authorize the Secretary of the Army to convey to the city of Charleston, South Carolina (previously the conveyance was authorized, but there was no named recipient) the property known as the Equipment and Storage Yard on Meeting Street in Charleston.
(Sec. 2848) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to convey to: (1) the Texas A&M University System of the State of Texas a portion of Fort Hood, Texas, for an upper level, State-supported university; (2) the State of Utah a parcel of real property at the Browning Army Reserve Center, Utah, for construction and operation of a veterans' nursing care facility; (3) the Hampton City School Board, Virginia, the Butler Farm Army Reserve Center, Virginia, for public education purposes; and (4) the State of Washington a portion of the National Guard Facility, Pier 91, Washington, for enabling such State to convey the facility unencumbered for economic development purposes.
(Sec. 2851) Amends the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 to: (1) authorize the Secretary of the Army to transfer to the Secretary of the Interior, in trust for the Nisqually Tribe (current law authorizes such transfer directly to such Tribe), a specified portion of Fort Lewis, Washington; (2) increase the amount of land to be transferred; and (3) specifically preserve, after such transfer, all existing permit rights and easements held by the Bonneville Power Administration with respect to such area.
Part II: Navy Conveyances - (Sec. 2861) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to convey to the University of Miami, Florida, certain parcels of property in the vicinity of the former Richmond Naval Air Station, Florida, to facilitate force protection and security needs of DOD facilities located on such Station.
(Sec. 2862) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to convey to: (1) the city and county of Honolulu, Hawaii, a parcel of real property on Valkenberg Avenue in Honolulu, to enhance the capability of the city and county to provide fire protection and firefighting services to civilian and military properties in the area, as well as firefighter training; (2) the State of Illinois, a political subdivision of the State, or a nonprofit land conservation organization certain environmentally sensitive land at the former Fort Sheridan, Illinois, for the purpose of ensuring the permanent protection of such land; (3) the State of Maryland a portion of the Naval Air Station, Patuxent River, Maryland, in exchange for a parcel of real property in Point Lookout State Park, Maryland; (4) the Berkeley County Sanitation Authority, South Carolina, a portion of the Naval Weapons Station in Charleston, for the expansion of an existing sewage treatment plant; and (5) the city of Portsmouth, Virginia, the Navy YMCA Building in Portsmouth, for economic revitalization purposes.
(Sec. 2865) Amends the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 to increase the acreage that the Secretary of the Navy is authorized to acquire with respect to a land acquisition in Perquimans County, North Carolina.
Part III: Air Force Conveyances - (Sec. 2871) Authorizes the Secretary of the Air Force to convey to: (1) the city of Montgomery, Alabama, the Maxwell Heights Housing site at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, in exchange for real property contiguous to such Base; (2) the March Joint Powers Authority a parcel of real property containing the former Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office facility for March Air Force Base, California, for economic development and revitalization; and (3) the Oneida County Industrial Development Agency, New York, a portion of the former Griffiss Air Force Base, New York, for economic development purposes.
Part IV: Other Conveyances - (Sec. 2881) Authorizes the Secretary to convey to Arlington County, Virginia, a parcel of real property on the Navy Annex property, Virginia, for the construction of a freedmen heritage museum and an Arlington history museum. Amends the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 to: (1) include a certain property within a transfer of Navy Annex property for use by Arlington National Cemetery; and (2) terminate the reservation of certain Navy Annex property for use in connection with memorials or museums.
Subtitle E: Other Matters - (Sec. 2891) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 1996 to continue through FY 2005 the authority of the Secretary to carry out the Department of Defense Follow-On Laboratory Revitalization Demonstration Program.
(Sec. 2892) Designates the Airmen Leadership School at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, as the John J. Rhodes Airmen Leadership School.
(Sec. 2893) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to pay specified funds to the Oakland Base Reuse Authority and the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Oakland, California, in settlement of certain claims.
(Sec. 2894) Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on the feasibility of using Camp Ripley National Guard Training Center in Little Falls, Minnesota, as a mobilization station for reserves called or ordered to active duty.
(Sec. 2895) Directs the Secretary of the Navy to report to Congress on the possible establishment and maintenance of a veterans' memorial on the site of the former Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, California.
(Sec. 2896) Expresses the sense of Congress that DOD should: (1) consider the effects that force structure and overseas stationing arrangements will have on military housing requirements at specific installations, the number of school-aged dependents at such installations, and the need for additional educational facilities to serve those dependents; and (2) consult with local communities and educational agencies on the best way to address such changing housing and educational requirements.
(Sec. 2897) Expresses the sense of Congress that a memorial marker should be designed and placed in an appropriate place to honor individuals who, although not U.S. citizens, served in the U.S. Armed Forces and were killed in the line of duty. Requires the Secretary of the Army to conduct a study and report to Congress.
Division C: Department of Energy National Security Authorizations and Other Authorizations - Title XXXI [sic]: Department of Energy National Security Programs - Subtitle A: National Security Programs Authorizations - (Sec. 3101) Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Energy (DOE) for FY 2005 for: (1) activities of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in carrying out programs necessary for national security, with specified allocations for weapons activities, defense nuclear nonproliferation activities, naval reactors, and the Office of the Administrator for Nuclear Security (Administrator); and (2) environmental restoration and waste management activities in carrying out national security programs, with specified allocations for defense environmental management, other defense activities, and defense nuclear waste disposal.
Subtitle B: Program Authorizations, Restrictions, and Limitations - (Sec. 3111) Directs the Administrator to report to the defense and appropriations committees setting forth the validated pit production requirements for the Modern Pit Facility (pit facilities supporting nuclear weapons).
(Sec. 3112) Amends the Atomic Energy Defense Act to extend through FY 2006 DOE authority for the appointment of certain scientific, engineering, and technical personnel.
(Sec. 3113) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004 to allow new projects under the Facilities and Infrastructure Recapitalization Program after its deadline of December 31, 2004, if the Administrator approves the project. Prohibits funds from being so obligated or expended until 60 days after the Administrator submits to the defense committees a notice of the new project and related information. Limits to five the total number of projects that may be carried out in a fiscal year under such authority.
(Sec. 3114) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2002 to revise milestone and reporting requirements relating to the National Ignition Facility. Requires the Administrator to report to the defense and appropriations committees on the milestones of the Facility to achieve ignition. Extends through 2011 (currently 2004) certain modifications and reporting requirements with respect to such Facility.
(Sec. 3115) Amends the Atomic Energy Defense Act to revise the annual date of submission of a plan for the stewardship, management, and certification of warheads in the nuclear weapons stockpile.
(Sec. 3116) Excludes certain radioactive material resulting from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel from those materials stored at a DOE facility which may be regulated by the States of South Carolina and Idaho pursuant to an approved closure plan or permit. Directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to: (1) monitor DOE radioactive material disposal actions to determine compliance with requirements enumerated under this section; and (2) if determining any noncompliance, inform DOE, the appropriate State, and the defense, energy, and appropriations committees.
(Sec. 3117) Earmarks funds authorized under this title for the treatment of waste material at the following nuclear sites: (1) the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory; (2) the Savannah River site (South Carolina); and (3) the Hanford (Washington) site.
(Sec. 3118) Directs the Secretary of Energy (Secretary, for purposes of this Division) to establish for each DOE Environmental Management 2006 closure site a local stakeholder organization to: (1) solicit and encourage public participation in appropriate activities relating to the closure of the site; and (2) disseminate information on the site's closure and post-closure operations to the State, local, and tribal governments affected by the closure, as well as persons and entities having a stake therein. Requires such organization to be established at least six months before a site's closure.
(Sec. 3119) Requires the Administrator to report to the defense and appropriations committees on the planned activities of the Advanced Nuclear Weapons Concepts Initiative for FY 2005.
Subtitle C: Proliferation Matters - (Sec. 3131) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004 to repeal the $50 million fiscal year limit on the total amount of international nuclear materials protection and cooperation program funds that may be obligated or expended by the President for a defense nuclear nonproliferation project or activity outside the states of the former Soviet Union.
(Sec. 3132) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the security of fissile and radiological materials and related equipment at vulnerable sites worldwide should be a top priority for U.S. national security; and (2) the President may establish in DOE a task force (the Task Force on Nuclear Materials) to carry out a program for such purposes. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a program to undertake a worldwide effort to mitigate the threats posed by such materials at sites potentially vulnerable to theft or diversion. Outlines program elements. Requires an interim and final program report from the Secretary to Congress. Provides funding from DOE nuclear nonproliferation funds.
(Sec. 3133) Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a program, to be known as the Silk Road Initiative, to promote non-weapons-related employment opportunities in the United States and in Silk Road nations (certain independent states of the former Soviet Union) for scientists, engineers, and technicians formerly engaged in activities to develop and produce WMDs in those nations.
(Sec. 3134) Authorizes the Administrator for Nuclear Security to carry out a program under which the Administrator awards, to scientists employed at nonproliferation research laboratories of the Russian Federation and the United States, international exchange fellowships, to be known as Nuclear Nonproliferation Fellowships, in the nuclear nonproliferation sciences. Limits the duration of a fellowship to two years, unless an extension is warranted under extraordinary circumstances as determined by the Administrator. Provides funding from DOE nuclear nonproliferation funds.
(Sec. 3135) Amends the Bob Stump NDAA for Fiscal Year 2003 to authorize the Secretary, in order to achieve international participation in a program for the elimination of production of weapons-grade plutonium, to enter into one or more agreements with any appropriate person, foreign government, or international organization for the contribution of funds for such program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) notify the defense and appropriations committees at least 30 days in advance of the intent to use such a contribution for such purposes; and (2) report annually to such committees on the receipt and utilization of such contributions.
Subtitle D: Other Matters - (Sec. 3141) Amends the Atomic Energy Act to extend through 2006 (currently 2004) the authority of the Secretary to enter into indemnification agreements with DOE contractors conducting activities that involve the risk of public liability and are not subject to other financial protection agreements.
(Sec. 3142) Requires the Assistant Secretary of Energy to report to the Secretary on the maintenance of retirement benefits for workers at DOE 2006 closure sites after the closure of such sites. Directs the Secretary to transmit such report to Congress, together with comments and recommendations.
(Sec. 3143) Directs the Administrator to contract with a federally funded research and development center for a study to assess NNSA efforts to understand the aging of plutonium in nuclear weapons. Requires a findings report from the Administrator to Congress.
(Sec. 3144) Directs the Secretary to require that the primary management and operations contract for Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, contains terms requiring the contractor to provide support to the Los Alamos Public School District for the elementary and secondary education of students in the amount of $8 million per fiscal year.
(Sec. 3145) Directs the Secretary to use competitive procedures in contracting for the conduct of independent reviews and evaluations of the design, construction, and operations of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico as they relate to the protection of the public health and safety and the environment. Outlines contract requirements.
(Sec. 3146) Directs the Secretary to arrange with the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences for a study of DOE plans to manage radioactive waste streams meeting a certain concentration level and not stored in a repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste. Requires an interim and final report from the Council to the Secretary and the appropriations, defense, and environmental committees. Provides study funding.
(Sec. 3147) Establishes in the Treasury the Pajarito Plateau Homesteaders Compensation Fund for the settlement of two lawsuits involving the U.S. acquisition of certain lands in New Mexico for the Manhattan Project (nuclear testing) conducted during World War II. Outlines judicial procedures with respect to the consolidated lawsuits. Provides Fund funding from amounts authorized for the NNSA under this title.
(Sec. 3148) Authorizes DOE to transfer, without consideration, certain parcels of land at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, to be used to facilitate economic development for Los Alamos County public schools.
Subtitle E: Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program - (Sec. 3161) Amends the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 to compensate under such Program any DOE contractor suffering an illness or death resulting from exposure to a toxic substance at a DOE facility. Directs the Secretary of Labor to administer the Program. Provides a compensation schedule based upon degree of impairment ratings ($2,500 for every degree of impairment), and includes as part of such compensation any wage loss suffered by an employee. Provides a compensation schedule for survivors of such employees, with three different categories based on the probability that the exposure contributed to the employee's death, along with other factors in descending order of priority. Makes such compensation provisions applicable to certain uranium mining or mill employees. Provides for judicial review of decisions concerning eligibility for compensation payments. Authorizes such Secretary to utilize the services of physicians for making eligibility and impairment determinations. Requires covered DOE employees to be furnished medical services for the covered illness. Reduces any such benefits by the amount received due to such illness from a State workers compensation system. Limits to $250,000 the maximum aggregate benefit (other than medical benefits) that an individual may receive based on an illness or death. Establishes within the Department of Labor the Office of the Ombudsman to provide benefits information, make recommendations on the location of resource centers for the acceptance and development of claims, and undertake related activities. Requires an annual activities report from the Ombudsman to Congress. Terminates this section three years after the enactment of this Act.
(Sec. 3164) Directs the Secretary to transfer Program funds to the Secretary of Labor to administer the compensation program.
(Sec. 3166) Directs the Secretary to ensure that members and staff of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Advisory Board are afforded sufficient security clearances to carry out investigations and employment information tracking relating to the compensation program. Provides deadlines with respect to the designation of members of the Special Exposure Cohort (investigative body for the compensation program). Requires the Secretary of Labor to direct the NIOSH Director to prepare, to the extent determined useful, site profiles (working conditions) for a DOE facility based on records, files, and other data provided by the Secretary of Energy. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish time frames for completing site profiles for DOE facilities for which such profiles have not been completed.
(Sec. 3167) Directs the President to require the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health to convene a Board meeting for consideration of the designation of members of the Special Exposure Cohort for whom petitions have already been received. Requires a report from the President to Congress on the status of such petitions.
(Sec. 3168) Includes under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program those workers exposed to residual radiation contamination.
(Sec. 3169) Requires the NIOSH Director to submit to Congress an update to the report on residual contamination of facilities required under the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2002.
(Sec. 3170) Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary should: (1) review the availability of assistance under subtitle B of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 for energy employees in the western New York region, including western Pennsylvania; and (2) recommend a location in that region for a resource center to provide claim assistance to such employees.
Title XXXII: Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board - (Sec. 3201) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.
Title XXXIII: National Defense Stockpile - (Sec. 3301) Authorizes the National Defense Stockpile (NDS) Manager, during FY 2005, to obligate up to $59.7 million of the funds in the National Defense Stockpile Transaction Fund (Fund) for authorized Fund uses, including the disposal of hazardous materials that are environmentally sensitive. Authorizes the NDS Manager to obligate amounts in excess of such amount 45 days after notifying Congress that extraordinary or emergency conditions necessitate the additional obligations.
(Sec. 3302) Amends the Thurmond Act to authorize the Secretary of Defense to dispose of NDS materials so as to result in $785 million in receipts by the end of FY 2005 and $870 million in receipts by the end of FY 2009.
(Sec. 3303) Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to dispose of up to 50,000 tons of ferromanganese from the NDS during FY 2005, allowing the disposal of up to 50,000 additional tons if all such disposals are completed before September 30, 2005. Allows the disposal of the additional amounts only if such Secretary has certified to the defense committees, at least 30 days in advance, that such disposal is in the national interest, will not cause disruption in the ferromanganese markets, and is consistent with NDS requirements and purposes.
(Sec. 3304) Prohibits the Secretary of Defense, during FY 2005, from storing mercury from the NDS at any facility not owned or leased by the United States.
Title XXXIV: Naval Petroleum Reserves - (Sec. 3401) Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary for FY 2005 to carry out activities relating to the naval petroleum reserves.
Title XXXV: Maritime Administration - (Sec. 3501) Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Transportation for FY 2005 for the Maritime Administration for: (1) operations and training; (2) administrative expenses under the loan guarantee program authorized under the Merchant Marine Act, 1936; and (3) ship disposal.
(Sec. 3502) Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to extend through December 31, 2010, the authority of the Secretary of Transportation to purchase war risk insurance and reinsurance for merchant marine vessels.
(Sec. 3503) Amends the Maritime Security Act of 2003 to require the Secretary of Transportation, in providing financial assistance for fiscal years after 2005 for the construction of tank vessels to be used for commercial and, if necessary, national defense purposes, to give priority consideration to subsidy proposals from applicants accepted for participation in the Shipboard Technology Evaluation Program, as outlined in a specified Circular issued by the Commandant of the Coast Guard on January 2, 2004.
Title XXXVI: Assistance to Firefighters - Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program Reauthorization Act of 2004 - (Sec. 3602) Amends the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to: (1) include in the purposes of such Act firefighter safety research and development, as well as research to improve firefighter health and life safety; and (2) authorize the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide grant assistance to non-hospital-affiliated emergency medical services (EMS) organizations. Provides grant limits of $1 million, but requires recipients to match 20 percent of grant funds with non-Federal funds. Reduces matching funds requirements with respect to communities of 50,000 or fewer residents. Increases grant limits with respect to recipients serving populations of over 500,000. Outlines grant distribution requirements. Requires the FEMA Director to convene an annual meeting of recognized national fire service and EMS organizations for recommending criteria for awarding grants and necessary administrative changes to the grant program.
(Sec. 3603) Directs the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration to study, and report to specified congressional committees on, appropriate firefighting equipment, staffing, and training, as well as the impact of the grant program in meeting the needs of fire services. Authorizes appropriations for the study.
Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 - Division A: Department of Defense Authorizations - Title I: Procurement - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - (Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for 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 2005 for defense-wide procurement.
Subtitle B: Army Programs - (Sec. 111) Limits the obligation or expenditure of funds for the procurement of light utility helicopters until the Secretary of the Army submits to the congressional defense and appropriations committees: (1) a certification that all required documentation for the acquisition of such helicopters has been completed and approved; and (2) an updated modernization plan for Army aviation containing specified elements.
(Sec. 112) Earmarks specified Army procurement funds for the procurement of: (1) up-armored high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles; and (2) wheeled vehicle ballistic add-on armor protection. Requires: (1) the Secretary of the Army to allocate the earmarked funds between the two procurements; and (2) at least 15 days' advance notice to the defense and appropriations committees prior to such allocation.
(Sec. 113) Authorizes additional Army procurement funds, to be used for the procurement of command-and-control vehicles or field artillery ammunition support vehicles. Offsets such additional funds from Air Force personnel funding.
Subtitle C: Navy Programs - (Sec. 121) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to: (1) procure the first amphibious assault ship of the LHA(R) class, subject to the availability of appropriations; and (2) enter into a multiyear contract for the procurement of the lightweight 155-millimeter howitzer, if determined effective for fleet use.
(Sec. 123) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to carry out a pilot program of flexible funding of engineered refueling overhauls and conversions of submarines, through amounts made available for the Navy for procurement and operation and maintenance for FY 2005 through 2012. Outlines program limitations. Requires an efficacy report from such Secretary to the defense and appropriations committees. Terminates the program after September 30, 2012.
Subtitle D: Air Force Programs - (Sec. 131) Prohibits, during FY 2005, the retirement of: (1) any KC-135E aircraft; or (2) any F-117 aircraft in use by the Air Force during FY 2004.
(Sec. 133) Authorizes additional Army procurement funds, to be used for the Senior Scout mission bed-down initiative. Offsets such additional funds from Air Force personnel funding.
Subtitle E: Other Matters - (Sec. 141) Directs the Secretary of Defense (Secretary) to report to the defense and appropriations committees on options for the acquisition of precision-guided munitions.
(Sec. 142) Requires the Secretary to report to the defense committees on a test program on the maturity and effectiveness of the Global Information Grid-Bandwidth Expansion network architecture.
Title II: Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - (Sec. 201) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for the Armed Forces for research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E). Earmarks specified amounts for science and technology projects.
Subtitle B: Program Requirements, Restrictions, and Limitations - (Sec. 211) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to use specified Navy RDT&E funds for the second destroyer in the DD(X) class destroyer program, including for detail design.
(Sec. 212) Limits the obligation or expenditure of funds available to the Department of Defense (DOD) for the Global Positioning System (GPS) III satellite until the Secretary: (1) completes an analysis of alternatives for architectures, technologies, and procedures for the next generation GPS; and (2) reports to the defense and appropriations committees on the results of such analysis.
(Sec. 213) Amends the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (Spence Act) to extend until March 1, 2005, the due date for the initiation of a concept demonstration of the Global Hawk high altitude endurance unmanned aerial vehicle.
(Sec. 214) Directs the Secretary to establish and require an executive committee to provide guidance and recommendations for the management of the Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems program to the Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Agency personnel managing the program.
(Sec. 215) Directs the Secretary to: (1) require the Defense Science Board to conduct a study on the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft program; and (2) report study results to the defense and appropriations committees.
(Sec. 216) Directs the Secretary to plan, program, and budget for all joint experimentation of the Armed Forces as a separate, dedicated program element under defense-wide RDT&E activities.
(Sec. 217) Increases (with corresponding offsets) the amounts authorized for: (1) Navy RDT&E, to be used for Navy infrastructure system security engineering development; (2) defense-wide RDT&E, to be used for neurotoxin mitigation research; (3) defense-wide RDT&E, to be used for spiral development of joint threat warning system maritime variants; (4) Air Force RDT&E, to be used for development and testing of the Advanced Ferrite Antenna; (5) Navy RDT&E, to be used for design, development, and testing of a prototype littoral array system for operating submarines; and (6) defense-wide RDT&E, to be used for advanced manufacturing technologies and radiation casualty research.
Subtitle C: Ballistic Missile Defense - (Sec. 231) Allows funds authorized for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) under this title to be used for the development and fielding of an initial set of ballistic missile defense (BMD) capabilities.
(Sec. 232) Directs the Secretary, with respect to the acquisition of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile system and Medium Extended Air defense system, to require the Secretary of the Army to obtain the approval of the MDA Director before the Secretary of the Army: (1) either changes system level technical specifications or establishes new specifications; (2) makes any significant change in a procurement quantity; or (3) changes the baseline development schedule in effect for either program.
(Sec. 233) Directs the Comptroller General (CG) to: (1) conduct an assessment, at the conclusion of each of 2004 through 2009, of the extent to which each BMD program meets cost, scheduling, testing, and performance goals; and (2) report each assessment's results to the defense and appropriations committees.
(Sec. 234) Requires the: (1) Secretary to prescribe criteria for operationally realistic testing of fieldable prototypes developed under the BMD spiral development program; (2) Director of Operational Test and Evaluation to evaluate the results of each test conducted, and report evaluation results to the Secretary and the defense and appropriations committees; (3) Director of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to establish cost, schedule, and performance baselines for each block configuration of the BMD system being fielded, and to include such information in required reports to Congress; and (4) MDA Director to include in such report any significant variations from the established baselines.
Subtitle D: Other Matters - (Sec. 241) Directs the Secretary, for each of FY 2006 through 2009, to report to the defense committees on the submarine technologies that are available or potentially available for insertion into Navy submarines to reduce their production and operating costs while maintaining or improving their effectiveness.
(Sec. 242) Expresses the sense of the Senate: (1) in strong support of the Advanced Shipbuilding Enterprise for reducing the cost of building and repairing ships in the United States; and (2) that the Secretary should continue to provide in the future-years defense program funding for the Enterprise at a sustained level to support additional research for reducing such cost.
Title III: Operation and Maintenance - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - (Sec. 301) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for operation and maintenance (O&M) for the Armed Forces and specified activities and agencies of DOD.
(Sec. 302) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for: (1) working capital funds; (2) the Defense Health Program; (3) chemical agents and munitions destruction; (4) drug interdiction and counter-drug activities; and (5) the Defense Inspector General.
(Sec. 304) Increases (with a corresponding offset) defense-wide O&M funds, to be used for the DOD one-source counseling and referral hotline.
Subtitle B: Program Requirements, Restrictions, and Limitations - (Sec. 311) Earmarks specified defense-wide O&M funds for: (1) the Commander's Emergency Response Program for enabling U.S. military commanders in Iraq to respond to urgent humanitarian and reconstruction needs for the people of Iraq; and (2) a similar program in Afghanistan.
(Sec. 312) Prohibits transfers out of a working capital fund, or between or among such funds, unless the Secretary has notified the defense and appropriations committees.
(Sec. 313) Increases (with a corresponding offset) Army O&M funds, to be used for the family readiness program of the National Guard.
Subtitle C: Environmental Provisions - (Sec. 321) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into agreements with owners of former defense property for the payment of certain cleanup costs in connection with the defense environmental restoration program. Makes the base closure account under the applicable base closure law the sole source of funds for environmental restoration at certain base realignment and closure sites.
(Sec. 322) Authorizes the Secretary to transfer specified DOD O&M funds to a named account as reimbursement to the Environmental Protection Agency for certain environmental cleanup costs in connection with the Moses Lake Wellfield Superfund Site, Washington.
(Sec. 323) Deems the Defense Inspector General in compliance with certain requirements under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 if the Inspector General conducts periodic audits of payments, obligations, reimbursements, and other uses from the Hazardous Substance Superfund.
(Sec. 324) Requires the CG to: (1) study drinking water contamination and related health effects at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; (2) ensure study participation by other interested (affected) parties; and (3) report study results and recommendations to the defense and appropriations committees.
(Sec. 325) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1999 to increase the amount authorized for an environmental remediation project in Front Royal, Virginia.
(Sec. 326) Directs the CG to study, and report to Congress on, whether cost-effective technologies are available for the cleanup of groundwater contamination at DOD installations in lieu of traditional methods such as pump-and-treat.
(Sec. 327) Expresses the sense of the Senate that DOD should: (1) work to develop a national plan to remediate perchlorate contamination of the environment resulting from DOD activities; (2) continue any current remediation; (3) develop a remediation plan with respect to contamination at levels that pose a hazard to human health; and (4) continue the process of evaluating and prioritizing contamination sites without waiting for the development of a Federal drinking water standard.
(Sec. 328) Increases (with a corresponding offset) defense health program O&M funds, to be used for purposes relating to Leishmaniasis Diagnostics Laboratory.
(Sec. 329) Requires the Secretary of the Air Force to report to the defense committees on current and anticipated encroachments on the use and utility of the special use airspace of the Utah Test and Training Range, including encroachments brought about through actions of other Federal agencies.
Subtitle D: Depot-Level Maintenance and Repair - (Sec. 331) Revises the dates and content of annual DOD reporting requirements concerning funds expended for depot-level maintenance and repair workloads.
(Sec. 332) Repeals the requirement for an annual report on the management of depot-level employees.
(Sec. 333) Extends through 2009 the authority to waive limitations on the performance of depot-level maintenance of materiel with respect to certain expenditures incurred in the operation of Centers of Industrial and Technical Excellence.
Subtitle E: Extension of Program Authorities - (Sec. 341) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2004 to extend through FY 2006 the Secretary's authority to provide prepaid phone cards or equivalent telecommunications benefits to certain members of the Armed Forces stationed outside the United States.
(Sec. 342) Amends the Spence Act to extend through FY 2006 a demonstration program for the support of Army manufacturing arsenals.
(Sec. 343) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 1998 to extend through FY 2006 a pilot program of using commercial services to improve the collection of DOD claims under aircraft engine warranties.
Subtitle F: Defense Dependents Education - (Sec. 351) Earmarks specified DOD O&M funds for assistance to local educational agencies that benefit dependents of members of the Armed Forces and DOD civilian employees. Requires the Secretary to notify each agency eligible for such assistance.
(Sec. 352) Earmarks specified DOD O&M funds for impact aid assistance for children with severe disabilities, as authorized under the Spence Act.
(Sec. 353) Expresses the sense of the Senate that DOD should support the construction of schools in housing privatization agreements that severely impact student populations.
Subtitle G: Other Matters - (Sec. 361) Authorizes the Secretary to charge fees for providing information in the Federal Logistics Information System through Defense Logistics Information Services to a department or agency outside of DOD, or to a State, political subdivision of a State, or any person.
(Sec. 362) Amends the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 to extend through FY 2006 the temporary authority within DOD for contractor performance of security-guard functions. Extends dates of, and requires the inclusion of additional information within, related reporting requirements.
(Sec. 363) Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a pilot program for the purchase of certain municipal services needed for a DOD installation from a county or municipality where the installation is located. Authorizes the Secretary of each military department (Secretary concerned) to designate up to two installations for participation in the pilot program. Requires a pilot program report from the Secretary to Congress.
(Sec. 364) Authorizes a working-capital funded Army industrial facility to enter into cooperative arrangements with non-Army entities to carry out military or commercial projects at the facility, including the sale of manufactured articles and the performance of work. Outlines: (1) conditions under which an activity may be carried out as a public-private partnership at an Army industrial facility; and (2) partnership requirements and conditions.
(Sec. 365) Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a program to: (1) commemorate the 60th anniversary of World War II; and (2) coordinate, support, and facilitate other such programs of the Federal Government, State and local governments, and other persons. Establishes the Department of Defense 60th Anniversary of World War II Commemoration Account for funding such activities. Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense committees on Account expenditures. Authorizes the Secretary to accept voluntary services in furtherance of the program.
(Sec. 366) Expresses the sense of Congress that the DOD policy regarding no media coverage of the transfer of the remains of deceased members of the Armed Forces appropriately protects the privacy of the members' families and friends and is consistent with U.S. constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
(Sec. 367) Expresses as the sense of the Senate to: (1) honor the sacrifices of members of the Armed Forces who have been killed or critically wounded while serving the United States; (2) recognize heroic efforts of military medical personnel in treating wounded personnel and civilians; and (3) support advanced medical technologies that assist military medical personnel in saving lives and reducing disability rates for members of the Armed Forces. Directs the Secretary to: (1) prescribe DOD policy for providing timely notification to the next of kin of the status of members who are seriously ill or injured in a combat zone; and (2) transmit a copy of such policy to the defense committees. Increases (with a corresponding offset) defense-wide RDT&E funds, to be used for medical equipment and combat casualty care technologies.
Title IV: Military Personnel Authorizations - Subtitle A: Active Forces - (Sec. 401) Sets forth authorized end strengths for active-duty forces as of the end of FY 2005.
(Sec. 402) Authorizes the Secretary, during FY 2005 through 2009, to increase as necessary by up to 30,000 the end strength authorized for the Army to support the Army's operational mission in Iraq and Afghanistan and to achieve Army transformational reorganization objectives. Requires a fiscal year's budget to be amended to reflect any such increase.
(Sec. 403) Excludes up to 100 permanent and career professors at the military academies from annual officer end strength limits.
Subtitle B: Reserve Forces - (Sec. 411) Sets forth the authorized end strengths as of the end of FY 2005 for members of the Selected Reserve and reserve personnel on active duty in support of the reserves.
(Sec. 413) Sets forth the minimum end strength for FY 2005 for Army and Air Force dual status military technicians.
(Sec. 414) Places specified FY 2005 limits on the number of non-dual status technicians authorized to be employed by the Army and Air National Guard.
(Sec. 415) Increases the authorized end strengths for Marine Corps Reserve officers in active status in the grades of first and second lieutenant, captain, major, and lieutenant colonel.
Subtitle C: Authorization of Appropriations - (Sec. 421) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for: (1) military personnel; and (2) the Armed Forces Retirement Home.
Title V: Military Personnel Policy - Subtitle A: Joint Officer Personnel Management - (Sec. 501) Authorizes an exception to the one-year joint duty requirement prior to promotion to the grade of brigadier general or rear admiral (lower half) in the case of an officer whose proposed selection for promotion is based primarily upon career field specialty qualifications (currently, scientific and technical qualifications).
(Sec. 502) Allows an officer to be designated with a joint specialty designation after completing two full tours of duty in joint duty assignments. (Currently, the only authority for such designation is serving one full tour of duty in a joint duty assignment and completing an appropriate education program at a joint professional military education school.) Directs the Secretary to ensure that the general and flag officer positions required to be filled by officers with the joint specialty as joint duty assignments are designated as such.
(Sec. 503) Revises generally promotion policy objectives for joint officers. Requires the Secretary to prescribe policies to ensure that the Secretaries concerned provide for promotion selection boards to give appropriate consideration to officers who are serving or have served in joint duty assignments and are eligible for consideration.
(Sec. 504) Provides various duty scenarios under which an officer shall be credited with having completed a full tour of duty in a joint duty assignment. Authorizes the Secretary to waive any such requirement in the case of a particular officer for national security reasons.
(Sec. 505) Repeals the three-month minimum duration of the principal course of instruction offered at the Joint Forces Staff College.
Subtitle B: Other Officer Personnel Policy - (Sec. 511) Repeals the prohibition against a person receiving an original appointment as a commissioned officer until the person has completed one year of service on active duty as a commissioned officer of a reserve component. Allows a person to qualify for such original appointment if he or she completes 20 years of active commissioned service before their 62nd (currently, 55th) birthday. Authorizes the Secretary to waive the requirement that a person receiving such an appointment be a citizen of the United States in the case of a person lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence when the Secretary determines that the national security so requires, but only for an original appointment in a grade below major or lieutenant commander. Requires the President alone (currently, with the advice and consent of the Senate) to make original appointments in the grades of second lieutenant through captain in the regular Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, and ensign through lieutenant in the regular Navy. Repeals limitations on the total authorized end strength of regular commissioned officers serving on active duty. Authorizes the Secretary concerned to discharge certain officers, or transfer certain officers from an active-duty list to a reserve active-status list, in order to restructure (force shape) that armed force. Requires appointment in a regular component, and service as a second lieutenant or ensign, for students graduating from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.
(Sec. 512) Repeals the requirement that Deputy and Assistant Chiefs of Naval Operations be selected from officers in the line of the Navy.
(Sec. 513) Extends through 2005 (currently, 2004) the authority to waive the requirement that reserve chiefs have significant joint duty experience.
(Sec. 514) Limits to 30 the total number of brigadier generals and rear admirals (lower half) on the active duty-list who are authorized to be frocked to major general or rear admiral (upper half) (to wear the insignia of such higher grade prior to the actual promotion date).
(Sec. 515) Directs the Secretary to study, and report to Congress on, whether it would be equitable for retired warrant officers on active duty, but not on the active-duty list, to be eligible for consideration for promotion.
Subtitle C: Reserve Component Personnel Policy - (Sec. 521) Allows the Secretary concerned to order a member of the reserves, without the member's consent, to active duty for training. (Currently, the Secretary concerned may order a reserve member to any active duty other than for training.)
Subtitle D: Education and Training - (Sec. 531) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2000 to extend through 2005 (currently, FY 2004) the Army College First (delayed entry) pilot program.
(Sec. 532) Requires that military recruiters be given access to college or university campuses and students that is at least equal in quality and scope to the access provided to any other employer.
(Sec. 533) Excludes from the denial of certain Federal funds to a college or university for preventing ROTC access any funds provided to a college, university, or individual solely for student financial assistance, related administrative costs, or costs associated with attendance.
(Sec. 534) Shifts the authority for conferring associate degrees at the Community College of the Air Force from the commander of the Air Education and Training Command to the commander of Air University.
(Sec. 535) Repeals the requirement that an officer serving as Superintendent of the Air Force Academy must retire upon completion of such service.
Subtitle E: Decorations, Awards, and Commendations - (Sec. 541) Authorizes the posthumous award of the Medal of Honor to a deceased, unidentified casualty of a particular war or other armed conflict who is interred in the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, as the representative of the members who died in such war or conflict, and not to the individual personally.
(Sec. 542) Directs the President to establish separate campaign medals to recognize service by U.S. military personnel in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
(Sec. 543) Directs the Secretary of the Army to submit to the defense committees a plan for revised criteria and eligibility requirements for the award of the Combat Infantryman Badge and Combat Medical Badge for service in the Republic of Korea after July 28, 1953.
Subtitle F: Military Justice - (Sec. 551) Amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to reduce from 0.10 to 0.08 grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters the blood alcohol content limit for the offense of drunken or reckless operation of a vehicle, aircraft, or vessel.
(Sec. 552) Provides that service time will not be considered lost (and therefore required to be made up) for a period of confinement in connection with a trial when the charge is dismissed or the conviction is set aside or dismissed.
(Sec. 553) Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a comprehensive DOD policy on the prevention of, and response to, sexual assaults involving members of the Armed Forces based on the recommendations of the Department of Defense Task Force on Care for Victims of Sexual Assaults; (2) submit to Congress a proposal for appropriate legislation to enhance DOD capability to address such matters; and (3) ensure that the policy developed is implemented uniformly by the military departments. Requires the department Secretaries to prescribe or modify regulations on such policies in order to conform to the policy established by the Secretary. Directs each Secretary annually to: (1) assess the implementation of such policies and procedures; and (2) report to the Secretary on the sexual assaults involving members of that department during the preceding year. Requires the Secretary to transmit each such report to the defense committees.
Subtitle G: Scope of Duties of Ready Reserve Personnel in Inactive Duty Status - (Sec. 561) Redesignates the "inactive-duty training" status applicable to members of the reserves as "inactive duty," thereby encompassing operational and other duties performed by the reserves while in inactive duty status.
(Sec. 562) Repeals provisions which provide a separate duty status for military funeral honors duty.
Subtitle H: Other Matters - (Sec. 571) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to: (1) waive initial service obligation requirements for a person who is accessed into an armed force based on unique skills acquired in a civilian occupation and is to serve in a specialty requiring those skills; and (2) require any alternative period of obligated service to meet the needs of that armed force.
Authorizes a period of basic training shorter than 12 weeks for members who have: (1) been credentialed in a medical profession or occupation and are serving in a health-care occupational specialty; or (2) unique skills acquired in a civilian occupation and are to serve in a military specialty or position requiring those skills.
(Sec. 572) Amends the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to: (1) include absent military voters; and (2) include absent military voters in write-in ballot requirements and restrictions.
(Sec. 573) Renames the National Guard Challenge Program as the National Guard Youth Challenge Program. Increases, for each of FY 2005 through 2007, the maximum authorized Federal share of State costs under such Program.
(Sec. 574) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to permit a representative of a veterans service organization to appear at and participate in any preseparation counseling provided to a member of the Armed Forces. Allows a unit of a reserve component in which a member has been released from active duty for further service in such reserve component to meet with a veterans service organization for information and assistance relating to such release, if the commander of the unit authorizes the meeting.
(Sec. 575) Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) members of the Armed Forces who on their own initiative are highly motivated to return to active-duty service following rehabilitation from injuries incurred in such service, after appropriate medical review, should be given the opportunity to so return; (2) other than appropriate medical review, there should be no barrier to a member having the option to so return; and (3) the Secretary should develop protocols that expand options for such members' return to active-duty service.
Title VI: Compensation and Other Personnel Benefits - Subtitle A: Pay and Allowances - (Sec. 601) Provides that, in the case of a member who is reassigned for a permanent change of station or assignment for a period of up to one year in order to participate in professional military education or training classes, the amount of basic allowance for housing for such member may be based on average housing costs in the area of either the new or old duty station, as determined most equitable by the Secretary concerned.
(Sec. 602) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to provide an immediate lump-sum reimbursement for unusual nonrecurring expenses incurred by a member for duty outside the continental United States.
(Sec. 603) Makes permanent (currently, ends December 31, 2004) the monthly family separation allowance.
Subtitle B: Bonuses and Special and Incentive Pays - (Sec. 611) Extends through 2005 specified authorities currently scheduled to expire at the end of 2004 with respect to certain special pay and bonus programs within the regular and reserve Armed Forces.
(Sec. 615) Reduces from four to three years the duty obligation for nurses receiving the nurse accession bonus.
(Sec. 616) Discontinues assignment incentive pay upon commencement of terminal leave (leave at the end of which the member will be discharged or released from active duty).
(Sec. 617) Makes permanent (currently, ends December 31, 2004) the monthly hostile fire and imminent danger special pay.
(Sec. 618) Makes enlisted personnel eligible to receive a critical skills retention bonus while serving on an indefinite reenlistment of at least one year.
(Sec. 620) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to pay an affiliation bonus to an eligible commissioned officer who enters into an agreement to serve for a specified period in the Selected Reserve: (1) in a designated critical officer skill; or (2) to meet a manpower shortage in a unit of the Selected Reserve or a particular pay grade of that armed force. Outlines provisions concerning commissioned officer eligibility and critical skill designation by the Secretary concerned.
Authorizes the Secretary concerned to pay an accession bonus to an individual who enters into an agreement to: (1) accept an appointment as a commissioned officer in the Armed Forces; and (2) serve in the Selected Reserve in a designated critical skill. Requires bonus repayment for failure to commence or complete the period of obligated service (determined by such Secretary).
(Sec. 621) Prohibits the Secretary concerned, in determining a member's eligibility for supplemental subsistence allowance for low-income members with dependents, from taking into consideration such member's receipt of either (or both) special pay for duty subject to hostile fire or imminent danger, or the family separation allowance. Makes members who receive the supplemental subsistence allowance eligible for other Federal assistance, such as programs under the National School Lunch Act and the Head Start Act. Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on the accessibility of social services to members of the Armed Forces and their families.
Subtitle C: Travel and Transportation Allowances - (Sec. 631) Authorizes a travel and transportation allowance, for two days and the time necessary for travel, for family members to attend burial ceremonies of members who die while on active duty. Removes a condition on the eligibility of parents to receive such allowance.
(Sec. 632) Includes, under travel and transportation allowances for dependent children of members stationed overseas, costs incurred for lodging necessitated by an interruption in travel caused by extraordinary circumstances.
Subtitle D: Retired Pay and Survivor Benefits - (Sec. 641) Provides a special rule for computing the high-36 month compensation average for disabled members of the reserves for purposes of retired pay determination.
(Sec. 642) Finds that the study of Federal death benefits for survivors of deceased members of the Armed Forces, required under the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004, has convinced Congress to initiate action to provide for the enhancement of such death benefits. Requires the Secretary to expedite completion of the final report under such study. Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should promptly submit to Congress any recommendation for legislation necessary to implement the death benefits enhancements that are included in such final report. Requires an interim increase in the death gratuity benefit by the same percentage as the annual increase in military basic pay. Directs the President, at the same time as the budget submission for FY 2006, to submit to the congressional defense and veterans' committees drafts of legislation to provide enhanced death benefits for survivors of deceased members of the Armed Forces, requiring the inclusion in such drafts of increases in the maximum benefit under the Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance program, as well as an additional set of death benefits for members who die in the line of duty while serving on active duty.
(Sec. 643) Repeals the current phase-in (lasting until December 31, 2004) on the concurrent receipt of military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities rated at 100 percent (thereby allowing immediate full payment of both).
(Sec. 644) Provides a phased increase in the amount of Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity available for military surviving spouses over age 62 from the current 35 percent of the base annuity to up to 55 percent of such base amount for months beginning after September 2014. Requires: (1) a corresponding phased elimination of the SBP supplemental annuity; and (2) the recomputation of current annuities to incorporate such changes.
(Sec. 645) Allows an eligible retired or former member to elect to participate in the SBP and the Supplemental SBP during the one-year open enrollment period beginning on October 1, 2005. Allows, also during such period, a person currently participating in the SBP or the Supplemental SBP, but not at the maximum amount, to increase such participation amount. Voids any election made by a person who dies within a two-year period after such election. Requires the Secretary to prescribe an additional premium for additional coverage under this section.
Subtitle E: Other Matters - (Sec. 651) Increases from two to three years the maximum period of educational leave for certain active-duty personnel in the case of a member pursuing a program of education in a health care profession.
(Sec. 652) Makes members eligible for the reimbursement of expenses incurred for adoption placements made by foreign governments.
(Sec. 653) Authorizes the Secretary to accept the donation of frequent traveler miles, credits, and tickets for air or surface transportation to facilitate the travel of: (1) a member of the Armed Forces who is deployed on active duty away from his or her permanent duty station and granted leave during such deployment; or (2) family members of a member recovering from injury or illness incurred or aggravated in the line of duty during such a deployment, in order to be reunited with such member. Authorizes the Secretary, under (2) above, to allow a person other than a family member to use such miles, credits, or tickets for such travel if the person has a notably close relationship with the member. Prohibits any recognition as income when such members, family members, or other persons utilize such benefit.
(Sec. 654) Authorizes the Secretary, in any case where the children of a covered member are geographically dispersed and have no practical access to military child care, to provide funds to permit such member's family to secure private child care access that is similar in scope and quality to military child care.
(Sec. 655) Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to make provisions under such Act allowing temporary relief from certain agricultural loan obligations applicable to military reservists mobilized during a war or national emergency, or under a call or order to active-duty service for more than 30 days. Forgives loan interest payments during any such period, and defers loan principal payments until after such mobilization or service.
Title VII: Health Care - Subtitle A: Enhanced Benefits for Reserves - (Sec. 701) Directs the Secretary to carry out a demonstration program for providing benefits under the TRICARE program (a DOD managed health care program) to members of the Ready Reserve who are: (1) eligible unemployment compensation recipients; (2) in a period of continuous unemployment from the end of their last month as eligible unemployment compensation recipients; or (3) ineligible for coverage by employer-sponsored health benefits plans.
(Sec. 702) Makes permanent (currently terminates on December 31, 2004) the special TRICARE benefits early-eligibility date for reserve personnel who are issued delayed-effective-date active-duty orders.
(Sec. 703) Authorizes the waiver of deductible payments for dependents of members of the reserves on active duty pursuant to a call or order to active duty of more than 30 days (currently, less than one year).
(Sec. 704) Provides protection from balance billing (the billing of full physician charges) for dependents of reserve personnel serving on active duty for more than 30 days.
(Sec. 705) Entitles members separated from active duty, and the dependents of such members, to medical and dental care through DOD for 180 days following the member's separation. (Currently, such transitional care is available for up to 120 days, depending upon the length of active-duty service prior to separation.) Directs the Secretary concerned to require each such member to undergo a comprehensive physical examination immediately before such separation.
(Sec. 706) Revises provisions concerning TRICARE eligibility requirements for members of the Ready Reserve to remove the requirement that such members be: (1) eligible unemployment compensation recipients; or (2) ineligible for employer-sponsored health benefits. Allows such eligibility for all Ready Reserve members except those enrolled in a Federal health benefits plan.
(Sec. 707) Provides for the temporary continuation of non-TRICARE health benefits plan coverage for dependents of certain reservists serving under a call or order to active duty during a war or national emergency. Provides the same continuation with respect to COBRA coverage. Allows a member to revoke the election for such coverage continuation.
Subtitle B: Other Matters - (Sec. 711) Repeals the required payment of subsistence charges while hospitalized in a military medical facility in the case of certain officers, former officers, and enlisted personnel.
(Sec. 712) Authorizes enrollment in a TRICARE dental plan for a dependent child of a deceased member if such child was, at the time of the member's death, under the minimum age for enrollment.
(Sec. 713) Allows dependents under age 13 who are participating in a military dental plan to be treated by postgraduate dental students in eligible military dental treatment facilities, under specified conditions, including treatment compliance with American Dental Association standards. Prohibits the total number of such patients from exceeding 2,000 in a fiscal year.
(Sec. 714) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 1995 to include marriage and family therapists under the DOD authority to enter into personal services contracts.
(Sec. 715) Directs the Secretary to establish an oversight advisory committee for the development and implementation of an effective program of chiropractic health care benefits for members serving on active duty. Requires a committee report to the Secretary. Terminates such committee 90 days after the report.
(Sec. 716) Revises the grounds for the presidential waiver of the requirement of informed consent or the option to refuse participation with respect to the DOD administration of drugs not approved for general public use.
(Sec. 717) Makes eligible for military medical and dental care cadets or midshipmen at a U.S. military academy, or members or applicants for membership in the Senior ROTC, who incur or aggravate an injury, illness, or disease in the line of duty. Provides an exception when the injury, illness, or disease is the result of gross negligence or misconduct.
(Sec. 718) Authorizes the Secretary to ensure an effective transition in the furnishing of part-time or intermittent home health care benefits for covered beneficiaries who were receiving such benefits before the establishment of the sub-acute care program.
(Sec. 719) Authorizes the Secretary to waive the collection of payments due for health benefits received under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS), and to continue the provision of such benefits through 2004, in the case of a member or dependent who was originally eligible for CHAMPUS benefits, became eligible for hospital insurance benefits under Medicare upon attaining the minimum age, and was unaware of the loss of eligibility for the CHAMPUS benefits after attaining eligibility for the Medicare benefits.
(Sec. 720) Directs the Secretary to establish the Vaccine Healthcare Centers Network to improve the safety and quality of vaccine administration for members of the Armed Forces, as well as the access to vaccine follow-up services, and to undertake clinical vaccine research. Outlines authorized Network activities. Expresses the sense of the Senate: (1) recognizing the important work being done by military vaccine centers; and (2) that each military department is strongly encouraged to fund the Network.
(Sec. 721) Authorizes the use of DOD funds for abortions when the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest.
Title VIII: Acquisition Policy, Acquisition Management, and Related Matters - Subtitle A: Acquisition Policy and Management - (Sec. 801) Makes the acquisition executive of each military department responsible for all aspects, including policies and related issues, with respect to the acquisition of information technology equipment integral to a weapon or weapon system. Directs the Secretary to establish a board of senior acquisition officials to develop policy and provide oversight with respect to such acquisitions.
(Sec. 802) Requires software-related program costs to be included in currently-required quarterly unit cost reports for major defense acquisition programs.
(Sec. 803) Prohibits any DOD official from ordering or purchasing property or services in an amount in excess of $100,000 through any particular GSA Client Support Center until the DOD Inspector General has: (1) reviewed the policies, procedures, and internal controls of such Center; and (2) certified their adequacy to the Secretary and the Administrator of General Services.
(Sec. 804) Directs the Secretary to: (1) review alternative mechanisms for procuring commercial satellite services, and provide guidance therein to the Director of the Defense Information Systems Agency and the Secretaries of the military departments; and (2) report review results to Congress.
(Sec. 805) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004 to require an advisory panel established under such Act, in making recommendations for the modification of Federal laws, regulations, or policies, to: (1) consider the recommendations' effects on small businesses; and (2) include recommendation modifications which will enhance and ensure competition in contracting that affords small businesses a meaningful opportunity to participate in Federal contracts. Revises and extends related reporting requirements.
Subtitle B: General Contracting Authorities, Procedures, and Limitations, and Other Matters - (Sec. 811) Increases from: (1) $50 million to $75 million the threshold prior to required approval of the senior procurement executive on the use of DOD procurement procedures other than competitive procedures; and (2) $500,000 to $1 million the threshold prior to the required provision by defense contractors of certain subcontractor information.
(Sec. 812) Extends for up to eight (currently, five) years the authorized period for DOD multiyear task and delivery order contracts. Requires an annual report from the Secretary to Congress, after the end of FY 2005 through 2009, on any contracts that were so extended.
(Sec. 813) States that current exceptions to the required submission of certain cost or pricing data by defense contractors shall not apply (thereby requiring such submission) to cost or pricing data on noncommercial modifications of a commercial item that are expected to cost, in the aggregate, more than $500,000.
(Sec. 814) Prohibits the delegation below the level of an Assistant Secretary of Defense of the authority to make certain determinations relating to payments to defense contractors for business restructuring costs expected to exceed $25 million over a five-year period.
(Sec. 815) Prohibits the head of an agency from procuring goods or services through a contract entered into by an agency outside of DOD if the amount charged includes a service charge in excess of one percent of the contract amount. Allows a waiver in the national security interest. Makes this section inapplicable to: (1) procurement contracts for certain services, including printing, binding, or blank-book work, and services under programs of the Library of Congress Fiscal Operations Improvement Act of 2000; (2) the Coast Guard when not operating as a service in the Navy; and (3) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
(Sec. 816) Expresses the sense of the Senate: (1) that, in the administration of the requirement for reservation of contracts for small businesses, the maximum amount of the applicable contract range (total value) should be increased by the same amount as any increase in the simplified acquisition threshold; and (2) encouraging the placement with small businesses of a fair portion of Federal purchase card or credit card purchases.
Subtitle C: Extensions of Temporary Program Authorities - (Sec. 821) Extends through FY 2009 the DOD contract goal for small disadvantaged businesses and certain institutions of higher education.
(Sec. 822) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year: (1) 1991 to extend through FY 2013 the mentor-protege program; (2) 1990 and 1991 to extend through FY 2010 a test program for the negotiation of comprehensive small business subcontracting plans; and (3) 1998 to extend through FY 2009 a pilot program on the sale of manufactured articles and services of certain Army industrial facilities.
Subtitle D: Industrial Base Matters - (Sec. 831) Establishes the Commission on the Future of the National Technology and Industrial Base to: (1) study and assess the future of the national technology and industrial base in attaining national security objectives; and (2) report to the President and Congress on its activities.
(Sec. 832) Authorizes the Secretary to waive the application of any domestic source or content requirement, and thereby authorize the procurement of, items grown, reprocessed, reused, produced, or manufactured: (1) in a foreign country that has a Declaration of Principles (a cooperative relationship concerning defense equipment procurement) with the United States; or (2) in the United States from materials grown, reprocessed, reused, produced, or manufactured in either the United States or any foreign country that has such a Declaration of Principles.
(Sec. 833) States that no provision or amendment under this Act shall apply to a DOD procurement to the extent that the Secretary determines it to be inconsistent with U.S. obligations under a trade agreement.
(Sec. 834) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004 to repeal defense industrial base requirements concerning essential item identification and domestic production capabilities improvement.
Subtitle E: Defense Acquisition and Support Workforce - (Sec. 841) Prohibits the defense acquisition and support workforce from being reduced during FY 2005 through 2007 below its level as of September 30, 2003, except as necessary to strengthen such workforce in higher priority positions. Requires phased increases in such workforce during such fiscal years. Requires the Secretary to: (1) develop a human resources strategic plan for such workforce that includes objectives and actions to improve workforce management; and (2) report to Congress on plan implementation.
(Sec. 842) Removes the requirement that only employees within GS-13 or above may be selected to a position in the Acquisition Corps of a military department (but still requires such employees to have been paid at a rate that exceeds the minimum rate of basic pay for such grade). Revises in the same manner, but with respect to the GS-14 level, the selection for defense critical acquisition positions. Outlines requirements for a current scholarship program which qualifies personnel for DOD acquisition positions, including a written scholarship agreement and repayment for failure to fulfill agreement terms.
Subtitle F: Public-Private Competitions - (Sec. 851) Prohibits a DOD function performed by ten or more civilian employees from being converted to performance by a contractor unless the conversion is based on the results of a public-private competition that: (1) formally compares costs; (2) creates a most efficient organization plan in accordance with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76; (3) requires continued performance by the civilian DOD employees unless there would be cost savings in contractor performance of at least ten percent or $10 million, whichever is less; and (4) ensures that the public sector bid is not reduced by a failure to offer an employer-sponsored health plan to the contract workers. Prohibits functions currently performed by at least ten civilian DOD employees from being separated in order to circumvent such requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to waive such requirements for national security purposes. Makes such requirements inapplicable with respect to the pilot program for best source selection for performance of information technology services as authorized under the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004.
(Sec. 852) Directs the Secretary to: (1) prescribe guidelines and procedures for ensuring that consideration is given to using Federal employees on a regular basis for work performed under DOD contracts; and (2) include the use of flexible hiring authority available through the National Security Personnel System to facilitate such Federal employee performance. Requires a report from the DOD Inspector General to the defense committees on the Secretary's compliance with such requirements.
(Sec. 853) Requires the Inspector General to report to Congress on whether DOD employs a sufficient number of trained civilian employees to: (1) satisfactorily conduct all of the public-private competitions scheduled to be undertaken by DOD during the next fiscal year; and (2) administer any resulting contracts.
Subtitle G: Other Matters - (Sec. 861) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004 to make certain Federal budgetary requirements inapplicable to a DOD settlement of a financial account for a contract for the procurement of property or services which is made under special temporary contract closeout authority.
(Sec. 862) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to carry out a demonstration program on the use of reserve personnel to perform test, evaluation, and related activities for an acquisition program. Limits to $10 million per fiscal year the authorized costs under such program.
(Sec. 863) Allows members of the National Guard performing certain additional duties in a State to receive financial assistance when such duties were contracted for under other-than-competitive procedures.
(Sec. 864) Directs the Secretary to submit to the defense, appropriations, and intelligence committees a plan for the management and oversight of contractor security personnel by Government personnel in areas where the Armed Forces are engaged in military operations. Requires the plan to include assessed options for enhancing contractor security and reducing contractor security costs in Iraq or in future locations of armed conflict.
(Sec. 865) Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense, appropriations, and intelligence committees on the procurement of services, by an agency of the U.S. Government or by the Coalition Provisional Authority, for the performance of security, intelligence, law enforcement, and criminal justice functions in Iraq.
(Sec. 866) Directs the Secretary to: (1) study available commercial processes for measuring the quality of information technology and related services through assessment of their production methods; and (2) determine the cost benefits of such a process in DOD procurements of information technology and related services.
(Sec. 867) Authorizes the head of a defense agency to contract for the performance of acquisition functions closely associated with inherently governmental functions only if the Secretary determines that: (1) the appropriate military or civilian personnel of DOD cannot perform the functions; (2) appropriate military or civilian DOD personnel are to supervise contractor performance and perform all inherently governmental functions under the contract; and (3) the contractor does not have an organizational conflict of interest in the performance of contract functions.
(Sec. 868) Makes provisions of the Randolph-Sheppard Act (requirements concerning the operation of vending facilities by the blind in Federal buildings) inapplicable to any military dining facility.
(Sec. 869) Directs the Secretary to exercise existing statutory authority to introduce life-cycle cost-effective upgrades to Federal assets through shared energy savings contracting, demand management programs, and utility incentive programs.
(Sec. 870) Authorizes the Secretary to make available to United Services Organization (USO) access to General Services Administration supplies and services through the Federal Supply Schedule.
(Sec. 871) Directs the Secretary to ensure that the Secretary of the Air Force does not proceed with the acquisition of Air Force aerial refueling aircraft by lease or other contract until 60 days after the Secretary has: (1) reviewed all documentation for the acquisition; and (2) certified to the defense and appropriations committees that the acquisition is in compliance with all currently applicable laws, OMB circulars, and regulations. Requires the Comptroller General (CG) and Inspector General to review such documentation and report to such committees their opinions on such compliance. Makes the acquisition of Air Force refueling aircraft beyond low-rate initial production subject to such requirements. Directs the Secretary of the Air Force, with respect to the selection of a provider of integrated support for such aircraft, to analyze the cost and benefits of using Federal versus contractor employees for such support. Requires the manufacturer to provide, with respect to commercial items covered by a lease or contract, appropriate information on the prices at which the same or similar items have previously been sold.
Title IX: Department of Defense Organization and Management - Subtitle A: Reserve Components - (Sec. 902) Establishes the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves to study: (1) the roles and missions of the National Guard and other reserve components; and (2) the compensation and other benefits currently provided to such members. Requires an interim and final report from the Commission to the defense committees. Directs the Secretary to appoint a board to: (1) conduct a review of reserve components; and (2) report to the Secretary on review results. Requires the Secretary to transmit such report to the defense committees, together with comments and recommendations.
(Sec. 903) Provides that when there is a vacancy in the position of the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, or the Chief is unable to perform such duties, the most senior officer among the Army and Air National Guard performing in the National Guard Bureau shall assume such position.
(Sec. 904) Redesignates the Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau as the Director of the Joint Staff of the National Guard Bureau.
(Sec. 905) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy, with the approval of the President, to redesignate the Naval Reserve as the Navy Reserve.
(Sec. 906) Authorizes the governor of a State, upon request by the head of a Federal agency and with the concurrence of the Secretary, to order any personnel of that State's National Guard to perform full-time National Guard duty in carrying out homeland security activities. Limits such duty to 180 days. Outlines requirements to ensure that the carrying out of such activities does not degrade the training and readiness of such units and personnel. Requires the Secretary to provide funds to such governors for the cost of performance of such activities, and to enter into a memorandum of agreement with each governor and the head of each Federal agency to which such personnel are to provide such support. Excludes National Guard personnel performing such functions from annual reserve end strength limits. Directs the Secretary to report annually to Congress regarding any assistance provided and activities carried out under such authority.
Subtitle B: Other Matters - (Sec. 911) Directs the Secretary to: (1) carry out a study of the roles and authorities of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering; and (2) report study results to the defense and appropriations committees.
(Sec. 912) Redesignates each of the: (1) Directors of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization of DOD and the military departments as the Director of Small Business Programs; and (2) Offices of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization within DOD and the military departments as the Office of Small Business Programs.
(Sec. 913) Redesignates the position of Superintendent of the Naval Postgraduate School as the President of the Naval Postgraduate School.
(Sec. 914) Establishes in the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences the United States Military Cancer Institute to carry out research studies on: (1) the epidemiological features of cancer among populations of various ethnic origins, as well as complementary research on oncologic nursing; (2) the prevention and early detection of cancer; and (3) basic, translational, and clinical investigation matters relating to such studies. Requires: (1) the Institute to carry out such research in collaboration with other cancer research organizations and entities selected by the Institute; (2) the Institute Director to report annually to the University President on the results of such studies; and (3) the University President to transmit such reports to the Secretary and Congress.
(Sec. 915) Adds to the duties of the Judge Advocate General (JAG) of each of the Army, Navy and Air Force to direct and supervise: (1) any civilian employees employed by that military department in the performance of their duties; and (2) the performance of legal duties required under the UCMJ. Requires the appointment by the President of an Assistant JAG for the Army, to serve for four years, but with presidential authority to terminate or extend such appointment at any time. Excludes any serving JAG from annual limits on general and flag officers for that military department.
Title X: General Provisions - Subtitle A: Financial Matters - (Sec. 1001) Authorizes the Secretary, in the national interest, to transfer up to $3 billion of amounts made available to DOD in this Act between any authorizations for that fiscal year. Requires congressional notification of each transfer.
(Sec. 1002) Provides a new limitation on the total amount authorized to be contributed by the Secretary in FY 2005 for the common-funded budgets of NATO (rather than the maximum amount otherwise applicable under the 1998 baseline limitation). Allocates for such purpose amounts authorized under titles II and III of this Act.
(Sec. 1003) Reduces by $1.67 billion the total amounts authorized to be appropriated under titles I through III of this Act, as a result of savings resulting from lower-than-expected inflation.
(Sec. 1004) Directs the Secretary to develop, by the end of FY 2005, a defense business enterprise architecture and transition plan covering all defense business systems of DOD as well as the functions and activities supported by such systems. Outlines architecture and plan elements. Prohibits, after the end of FY 2005, any U.S. officer or employee from obligating or expending an amount in excess of $1 million for a defense business system modernization unless the Secretary or other delegated official has determined that such modernization is: (1) consistent with the newly-developed architecture and plan; or (2) necessary for national security reasons or to prevent a significant adverse effect on a project needed to achieve an essential capability. Provides an order of priority for the Secretary in delegating authority for the planning, design, acquisition, development, deployment, operation, maintenance, modernization, and oversight of defense business systems. Directs the Secretary to require each such official to establish, with respect to their delegated authority, an investment review process with respect to the covered business system. Requires the Secretary, for each defense budget submitted for fiscal years after 2005, to include a defense business systems budget exhibit. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a Defense Business Systems Management Executive Committee to provide advice and recommendations in implementing defense business systems modernizations; and (2) report annually to the defense and appropriations committees, for each of 2005 through 2009, on the implementation of this section. Requires the CG to review the architecture and transition plan developed by the Secretary, and report review results to such committees.
(Sec. 1005) Applies the DOD authority for uniform funding and management of morale, welfare, and recreation programs to all service academy athletic and extracurricular programs and similar support mission activities that: (1) are not considered morale, welfare, and recreation programs or activities; (2) are funded out of appropriated funds; (3) are supported by a supplemental mission nonappropriated fund instrumentality; and (4) are not operated as a private organization.
(Sec. 1006) Authorizes supplemental appropriations of $25 billion for DOD for FY 2005, to be available only for activities in support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Allocates such funds among specified military department and defense-wide accounts. Allows such authorization only to the extent that a budget request is transmitted from the President to Congress that includes a designation of the requested amount as an emergency and essential to support activities in such countries. Provides certain transfer authority limits. Directs the Secretary to report monthly to the defense and appropriations committees on the use of such authorized funds.
Subtitle B: Naval Vessels and Shipyards - (Sec. 1011) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy, in acquiring Navy service craft and boats, to exchange or sell similar but obsolete Navy service craft and boats and to apply the proceeds received to the acquisition price.
(Sec. 1012) Prohibits the Secretary of the Navy from disposing of the decommissioned destroyer ex-Edson before October 1, 2007, to an entity that is not a nonprofit organization unless such Secretary first determines that there is no available nonprofit organization that meets the criteria for such donation.
(Sec. 1013) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to use net cost as a criterion in the selection for award of a contract for the dismantling of one or more ships stricken from the Naval Vessel Register. Allows the award contractor to retain the proceeds from the sale of scrap and reusable items recovered from the dismantled vessel.
(Sec. 1014) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to transfer: (1) on a grant basis the destroyer O'BANNON to the Government of Chile, and the guided missile frigates GEORGE PHILIP and USS SIDES to the Government of Portugal; and (2) on a sale basis the dock landing ship ANCHORAGE to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, and the destroyer FLETCHER to the Government of Chile. Prohibits the vessels transferred on a grant basis from counting against the aggregate value limit of excess defense articles transferred in a fiscal year under provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Requires: (1) all costs of transfers to be borne by the recipients; and (2) any pre-transfer vessel repair or refurbishment to be performed at a U.S. shipyard, including a Navy shipyard. Terminates the transfer authority two years after enactment of this Act.
Subtitle C: Reports - (Sec. 1021) Directs the Secretary to report to the defense and appropriations committees on contractor security in Iraq.
(Sec. 1023) Directs the Secretary to carry out a study of the feasibility of using Camp Ripley National Guard Training Center in Little Falls, Minnesota, as a mobilization station for reserves called or ordered to active duty.
(Sec. 1024) Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a study of the extent to which members assigned to duty in support of contingency operations receive training in preparation for post-conflict operations, and to evaluate the quality of such training; and (2) report study results to the defense committees.
(Sec. 1025) Directs the Secretary to report to Congress assessing the availability of potential BMD test ranges for overland intercept flight tests against BMD systems of a specified range.
(Sec. 1026) Directs the Secretary to submit to Congress a report on: (1) operations of the Federal Voting Assistance Program to support absentee military voting; (2) the military postal system to support morale and absentee voting of members; and (3) implementation of recommended postal system improvements.
(Sec. 1027) Directs the Secretary to report to the defense and appropriations committees on: (1) the need for one or more national centers of excellence for unmanned aerial and ground vehicles; and (2) the conduct of military operations during the post-major combat operations phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
(Sec. 1029) Requires the CG to submit to Congress an analysis of the potential for use of transitional benefit corporations in connection with competitive sourcing of the performance of DOD activities and functions.
(Sec. 1029A) Directs the CG to study, and report to the defense committees on, programs of DOD and other Federal departments and agencies under which transition assistance is provided to personnel who are separating from active-duty service.
(Sec. 1029B) Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Labor to jointly: (1) carry out a study of ways to coordinate the standards applied by the Armed Forces for the training and certification of members in military occupational specialties with the standards applied to corresponding civilian occupations of government and the private sector; and (2) report study results to Congress.
(Sec. 1029C) Authorizes the Secretary concerned, with respect to preseparation counseling for personnel separating from active-duty service, to provide for counseling participation by representatives of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Small Business Administration, other appropriate executive agencies, and the Veterans' Business Outreach Centers and Small Business Development Centers.
(Sec. 1029D) Requires quarterly reports from the Secretary to the defense and appropriations committees containing a detailed accounting of costs incurred for operations of the Global War on Terrorism.
(Sec. 1029E) Directs the President to report to the defense and appropriations committees on the strategy of the U.S. and coalition forces for stabilizing Iraq.
(Sec. 1029F) Directs the Secretary to report to the defense and intelligence committees on the number of persons held by DOD for more than 45 days, and on the facilities in which such persons are held.
Subtitle D: Matters Relating to Space - (Sec. 1031) Requires the Secretary to: (1) conduct a comprehensive review of the U.S. space posture over the posture review period (the period beginning one year after the enactment of this Act and ending ten years thereafter); and (2) report review results to the defense, appropriations, and intelligence committees.
(Sec. 1032) Directs the Secretary to contract with a federally funded research and development center to establish a panel on the future military space launch requirements of the United States, including means of meeting such requirements. Requires the panel to report results to the Secretary and the defense, appropriations, and intelligence committees. Terminates the panel 16 months after the panel chairman is designated. Provides panel funding from amounts appropriated under this Act.
(Sec. 1033) Requires the Secretary to ensure that operationally responsible national security payloads of DOD for space satellites are planned, programmed, and budgeted for as a separate, dedicated DOD program element. Directs the Secretary to assign management authority for such program element to the Director of the Office of Force Transformation. Provides funding from DOD RDT&E funds authorized under this Act.
(Sec. 1034) Prohibits land remote sensing information: (1) from being disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act; or (2) provided by the head of a U.S. department or agency to a State or local government from being disclosed to the general public under any State or local law relating to the disclosure of information or records.
(Sec. 1035) Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary should provide support for, and continue the development, certification, and deployment of, space launch range safety systems.
Subtitle E: Defense Against Terrorism - (Sec. 1041) Authorizes the commander of a military installation to include within a disaster response agreement entered into with a local public safety agency a clause allowing the commander to accept from such agency for use during a natural or man-made disaster any communications equipment that is useful for communicating during a joint response to a disaster.
(Sec. 1042) Directs the Secretary to: (1) determine the feasibility and advisability of dedicating an airlift capability of the Armed Forces on a full-time basis to the support of any homeland defense operations; (2) conduct a study of existing plans and capabilities of DOD for meeting contingent requirements for transporting emergency response teams to such disasters; and (3) report study results to the defense committees.
(Sec. 1043) Requires the Secretary to submit to the defense and appropriations committees a plan, for implementation by DOD, that sets forth a systematic approach for ensuring the survivability of defense critical systems upon contamination by chemical or biological agents.
Subtitle F: Matters Relating to Other Nations - (Sec. 1051) Authorizes members of the Armed Forces to provide humanitarian assistance for the detection of landmines or explosive remnants of war in a foreign country, including activities relating to the furnishing of education, training, and technical assistance, if the Secretary determines that the provision of such assistance will promote: (1) the security interests of both the United States and the recipient country; and (2) the operational readiness skills of members who provide such assistance. Requires the Secretary of State to specifically approve any such assistance. Allows the use of DOD humanitarian assistance funds for such purpose, with a limit of $5 million per country.
(Sec. 1052) Authorizes the Secretary, during FY 2005 and 2006, to use funds made available to DOD for drug interdiction and counter-drug activities to provide assistance to the Government of Colombia to: (1) support a unified campaign against narcotics trafficking; (2) support a unified campaign against activities by designated terrorist organizations; and (3) take actions to protect human health and welfare in emergency situations, including undertaking rescue operations. Provides limitations on the number of U.S. personnel assigned to Colombia during such fiscal years in support of Plan Colombia. Prohibits any U.S. Armed Forces, civilian employee, or civilian contractor personnel stationed or employed in Colombia from participating in any combat operations, except in self-defense or rescue operations. Requires a report from the Secretary of State to the defense, appropriations, and foreign relations committees on any relationships between terrorist organizations in Colombia and foreign governments or organizations.
(Sec. 1053) Authorizes the Secretary to provide assistance in FY 2005 to Iraq and Afghanistan military or security forces solely to enhance their ability to combat terrorism and support U.S. or coalition military operations in such countries. Limits to $250 million the cost of such assistance. Directs the Secretary to notify the defense and appropriations committees at least 15 days in advance of such assistance.
(Sec. 1054) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to accept the assignment of one or more members of the navy of another member country of NATO to a command of the U.S. Navy for work on the development, standardization, or interoperability of submarine vessel safety and rescue systems and procedures. Terminates such authority after September 30, 2008.
(Sec. 1055) Requires any DOD plan providing compensation to individuals injured in a U.S. military prison in Iraq to include a provision to address the injuries suffered by the 17 U.S. citizens who were held as prisoners of war by the regime of Saddam Hussein during the First Gulf War.
(Sec. 1056) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the President should make the substantial reduction of drug trafficking in Afghanistan a priority in the war on terror; (2) the Secretary should work to a greater extent with the Government of Afghanistan and international organizations involved in counterdrug activities to assist in providing a secure environment for counterdrug personnel in Afghanistan; and (3) since narcotics trafficking tends to support terrorist activities and contribute to the instability of the Afghan Government, additional efforts should be made by U.S. Armed Forces to reduce such trafficking in Afghanistan and neighboring countries. Requires a report from the Secretary to Congress on progress made in reducing poppy cultivation and heroin production capabilities in Afghanistan, and on the extent to which profits made from illegal drug activities in Afghanistan fund terrorist organizations and groups seeking to undermine the Afghan Government.
(Sec. 1057) Prohibits any person in the custody or physical control of the United States from being subject to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment that is prohibited by the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States. Directs the Secretary to prescribe rules, regulations, or guidelines necessary to ensure compliance with such prohibition, and to report to the defense and appropriations on such implementation. Requires the Secretary to report semiannually to Congress on circumstances surrounding any investigation of a possible violation of such prohibition by either a member of the Armed Forces or a person providing contractual services to DOD.
(Sec. 1058) Directs the Inspector General to ensure, no later than June 30, 2004, the security of all documents relevant to the UN Oil-for-Food Program that are in possession or control of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). Requires such documents to be delivered to the CG. Directs each Federal agency head and the Administrator of the CPA, upon a request in connection with an investigation of the Program by the relevant congressional committees, to promptly provide access to such information. Directs the Secretary of State to urge the UN Secretary General to provide the United States with copies of all audits and core documents related to such Program. Expresses the sense of Congress that the CG should have full and complete access to UN financial data relating to the Program. Requires the CG to conduct a review of U.S. oversight of the Program.
(Sec. 1059) Expresses the sense of Congress: (1) commending the President for steps taken to continue support for the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Nuclear Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction, and using the Partnership to coordinate nonproliferation projects in Libya, Iraq, and other countries; and (2) urging the President to undertake specified activities to further Partnership efforts.
(Sec. 1059A) Amends the Arms Export Control Act to except Australia and the United Kingdom (currently, only Canada) from required bilateral trade agreements with the United States prior to transfers or changes in end use of defense items that remain subject to licensing requirements of such Act. Requires the President, at least 30 days prior to authorizing an exemption from licensing requirements of International Traffic in Arms Regulations with respect to any such country, to certify to the foreign relations and defense committees that it is in the U.S. national security interests and will not adversely affect either the ability to adequately control licensed exports of U.S. defense items or the requirements of the Secretary of State under such Act. Directs the President to: (1) notify such committees of the text of the regulations that authorize such a licensing exemption; and (2) report annually to such committees on issues raised in consultations conducted under the terms of any bilateral agreement entered into with Australia or the United Kingdom, or with exemptions from licensing requirements for such countries. Requires the Secretary of State to notify such committees after receiving any credible information regarding an unauthorized end-use or diversion of U.S. exports made pursuant to any agreement with a country to gain exemption from licensing requirements.
(Sec. 1059B) Amends the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense and Reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, 2004 to redesignate the Inspector General of the CPA as the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIG). Authorizes the continuation in office of the person currently serving in the redesignated position. Replaces references to: (1) the heads of the CPA with the Secretaries of State and Defense; and (2) the CPA with the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund. Requires the SIG to coordinate with, and receive the cooperation of, the inspectors general for DOD, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the State Department. Revises due dates for certain reports required from the SIG. Terminates the Office of the SIG ten months after the date on which 80 percent of the amounts appropriated or otherwise obligated to the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund have been obligated (currently, six months after the authorities and duties of the CPA cease to exist).
(Sec. 1059C) Expresses as U.S. policy the humane treatment of prisoners and avoidance of their indefinite detention. Requires from DOD to the appropriate committees: (1) a quarterly report on the number of persons who were denied Prisoner of War status under the Geneva Conventions and the basis for each denial; (2) a report on military missions to be held, and the number of prisoners, at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; (3) all Red Cross reports received concerning the treatment of prisoners in U.S. custody at Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, and Afghanistan; and (4) a report on all prisoner interrogation techniques approved by U.S. officials. Requires DOD to certify to such committees that all Federal employees and civilian contractors engaged in the handling and/or interrogation of prisoners have fulfilled an annual training requirement on the laws of war and U.S. obligations under international humanitarian law.
Subtitle G: Other Matters - (Sec. 1061) Makes technical amendments to definitions under Federal armed forces provisions.
(Sec. 1062) Extends through 2006 (currently, 2004) the authority of the Secretary to engage in commercial activities as security (cover) for intelligence collection activities abroad.
(Sec. 1063) Provides liability protection for persons voluntarily providing maritime-related services on behalf of the Navy.
(Sec. 1064) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to license trademarks, service marks, certification marks, and collective marks owned or controlled by the Secretary concerned and to expend such fees for trademark and licensing costs.
(Sec. 1065) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2002 to delay until the November 2006 (currently, 2002) election for Federal office the applicability of an electronic voting demonstration project to be carried out by the Secretary.
(Sec. 1066) Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to extend through December 31, 2008, the authority of the Secretary of Transportation to purchase war risk insurance and reinsurance for merchant marine vessels. Authorizes such Secretary to request the Secretary of the Treasury to invest excess war risk insurance funds.
(Sec. 1067) Amends the District of Columbia Public Works Act of 1954 to require annual (currently, quarterly) reports from the Secretary of the Treasury to specified congressional committees concerning Federal payments for District water and sewer services.
(Sec. 1068) Makes Federal provisions requiring the salary of Federal officials and employees to be paid only by the United States inapplicable to pay received from civilian employers by members of the reserves while such members are on active duty in connection with a contingency operation.
(Sec. 1069) Protects military personnel from retaliatory actions for communications made through the military chain of command.
(Sec. 1070) Directs the Secretary of State to establish procedures for the expedited consideration (no more than 30 days after receipt) of license applications for the export or transfer of defense items related to missile defense. Requires such Secretary to: (1) examine the feasibility of providing major project authorizations for programs related to missile defense similar to the comprehensive export authorization provided under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations; and (2) report to the foreign relations and defense committees on the expedited consideration procedures and the feasibility of such project authorizations. Directs the Secretary of Defense to: (1) prescribe procedures for the expedited review of licenses for the transfer of defense items related to missile defense; and (2) report to such committees on such procedures and any actions taken.
(Sec. 1071) Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States: (1) should vigorously pursue initiatives aimed at eliminating, reducing, or retarding the proliferation of ballistic missiles and related technologies; and (2) and the international community should continue to support and strengthen established international accords and efforts designed toward such elimination, reduction, or retardation.
(Sec. 1072) Directs the Secretary to reimburse a member for the cost of any protective, safety, or health equipment purchased by the member, or by another on behalf of the member, before or during member deployment in Operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, or Iraqi Freedom for use in connection with such operation, if the member's unit commander certifies that the equipment was critical to the member's protection, safety, or health. Provides limitations concerning the date of purchase of certain equipment, as well as reimbursement amounts.
(Sec. 1073) Prohibits the Secretary from reducing or eliminating search and rescue capabilities at any military installation in the United States unless the Secretary first certifies to the defense committees that equivalent search and rescue will be provided without interruption and with the policies and objectives set forth in the United States National Search and Rescue Plan entered into force on January 1, 1999.
(Sec. 1074) Grants a Federal charter to the Korean War Veterans Association, Incorporated (a nonprofit corporation incorporated under the laws of New York).
(Sec. 1075) Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Internal Revenue Service should provide guidance to promote and insure the validity of voluntary differential pay arrangements, benefits payments, and contributions to retirement savings plans related thereto.
(Sec. 1076) Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to purchase ten aircraft for the National Interagency Fire Center for use in aerial firefighting. Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 1077) Expresses the sense of the Senate that the mission statement and policies of the American Forces Radio and Television Service appropriately state the goal of maintaining equal opportunity balance with respect to political programming and that the Secretary should ensure that these policies are being fully implemented.
(Sec. 1078) Recognizes the Liberty Memorial Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, as America's National World War I Museum.
(Sec. 1079) Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education, in considering assurances made by an institution that it is an Hispanic-serving institution of higher education, to consider such assurances as meeting the Hispanic-serving requirements unless the Secretary determines, based on a preponderance of the evidence, that such assurances do not meet such requirements.
(Sec. 1080) Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) provide extraterritorial jurisdiction for current offenses of major fraud against the United States; and (2) include within military extraterritorial jurisdiction a civilian employee, or contractor employee, of any Federal agency or provisional authority to the extent such employment relates to support of DOD missions overseas.
(Sec. 1083) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 1991 to include for participation in the mentor-protege pilot program under such Act: (1) a small business owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans; and (2) a qualified HUBZone (heavily underutilized business zone) small business.
(Sec. 1084) Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to provide that, if the violator of the terms and conditions of any Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license, permit, or certificate is either a broadcast station licensee or permittee or an applicant for a broadcast license, permit, or certificate, and such violator is determined by the FCC to have broadcast obscene, indecent, or profane language, the amount of the forfeiture penalty shall not exceed $275,000 for each violation or day of a continuing violation, with a limit of $3 million per violation.
Declares invalid and without legal effect the broadcast media ownership rules adopted by the FCC on June 2, 2003.
Directs the FCC, in case of a broadcast violation described above, to take into account various factors with respect to the degree of culpability, including whether: (1) the material was live or recorded, scripted or unscripted; (2) the violator had a reasonable opportunity to review the programming; (3) a time-delay blocking mechanism was implemented; and (4) the violation occurred during a children's program or during children's viewing hours. Allows the FCC, when aggravating factors are present, to double the fine amounts for such violations.
(Sec. 1085) Children's Protection from Violent Programming Act - (Sec. 1086) Directs the FCC to: (1) assess the effectiveness of measures to require television broadcasters and multichannel video programming distributors to rate and encode programming that could be blocked by parents by use of a V-chip; and (2) report its findings to specified congressional committees. Authorizes the FCC, if it finds such measures ineffective, to prohibit the distribution of violent video programming during hours when children are reasonably likely to comprise a substantial portion of the audience.
(Sec. 1087) Makes it unlawful for any person to distribute to the public any violent video programing not blockable by electronic means specifically on the basis of its violent content. Provides for exemptions for: (1) programming (including news programs and sporting events) the distribution of which does not conflict with the objective of protecting children from the negative influences of violent video programming; and (2) premium and pay-per-view direct-to-home satellite programming. Applies to such distribution violations the same penalties provided under the previous section.
(Sec. 1090) Authorizes the Director of the National Security Agency to carry out, for up to six years after the enactment of this Act, a pilot program on cryptologic service training for the intelligence community.
(Sec. 1091) Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to: (1) extend through FY 2005 the authority of Federal agencies to enter into contracts for energy savings and conservation; (2) allow payment of contract costs from funds appropriated for water or wastewater treatment; and (3) include water and wastewater treatment and water conservation measures within the definitions and purposes of energy savings and energy savings contracts under such Act. Directs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) complete a review of the Energy Savings Performance Contract to identify obstacles that prevent Federal agencies from fully utilizing the program; and (2) report review results to Congress. Validates any Federal energy savings contract entered into between October 1, 2003 (the previous termination date) and the enactment of this Act.
(Sec. 1092) Provides the FY 2004 funding level to be utilized by the Secretary of Commerce with respect to a National Institute of Standards and Technology account for industrial technology services.
(Sec. 1093) Amends the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2004 to direct the Secretary, in a report on offset requirements under certain contracts, to consider the extent to which any foreign country imposes offsets in excess of 100 percent on U.S. suppliers of goods or services, and the impact of such offsets on the United States.
Title XI: Department of Defense Civilian Personnel Policy - (Sec. 1101) Directs the Secretary to carry out a pilot program to provide financial assistance (scholarships) for education in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology skills and disciplines that are critical to DOD national security functions and needed in the DOD workforce. Requires: (1) a written agreement by scholarship recipients for a period of obligated service with DOD following such education; (2) recipient refunds for any unserved periods of obligated service; and (3) a plan from the Secretary to the defense committees for expanding and improving such pilot program to improve recruitment and retention to meet DOD requirements for its science and engineering workforce over a short- and long-term basis. Authorizes Federal agencies to appoint candidates: (1) for positions where there exists a severe shortage or there is a critical need; or (2) who participate in the scholarship program, above.
(Sec. 1102) Makes personnel eligible for foreign language proficiency pay during any service (currently, only for service during a contingency operation).
(Sec. 1103) Makes civilian intelligence personnel pay rates equal to the rates provided for comparable positions in DOD, including Senior Executive positions. Requires the Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service to be subject to a performance appraisal system certified by the Secretary as making meaningful distinctions based on relative performance.
(Sec. 1104) Authorizes the accrual of Federal annual leave by intelligence senior level employees.
(Sec. 1105) Provides for pay parity for senior executives in defense nonappropriated fund instrumentalities with the pay of DOD employees in the Senior Executive Service or other senior executive positions.
(Sec. 1106) Directs the Secretary to provide a uniform health benefits program for employees of DOD assigned to a nonappropriated fund instrumentality of the United States. Exempts such program from State and local laws, taxes, and other requirements.
(Sec. 1107) Revises Federal procurement protest provisions to include requirements for bid protests by Federal employees in actions under OMB Circular A-76 (private performance of an activity or function of a Federal agency). Directs the CG to administer actions for protests in cases of public-private competitions conducted under Circular A-76. Allows an appropriate Federal official to intervene in a civil action concerning a public-private competition if a private-sector interested party commences the action.
(Sec. 1108) Directs the Secretary to submit to the defense and intelligence committees a plan for expanding and improving the DOD national security foreign language workforce so as to improve recruitment and retention and meet DOD foreign language workforce requirements on both a short- and long-term basis.
(Sec. 1109) Requires the Under Secretaries of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics and for Personnel and Readiness to jointly: (1) develop a plan for effective utilization of their flexible personnel management authorities with respect to DOD laboratories; and (2) submit the plan to Congress.
(Sec. 1110) Reservists Pay Security Act of 2004 - Entitles a person who is absent from his or her position of employment with the Federal Government in order to perform call or order active duty-service for the reserves or National Guard to receive during such duty period an amount that, when added to the pay and allowances for the military service, equals the basic pay which would have been payable for the person's civilian employment for the same period had it not been interrupted by military service. Authorizes appropriations.
Title XII: Cooperative Threat Reduction With States of the Former Soviet Union - (Sec. 1201) Specifies the cooperative threat reduction (CTR) programs to be funded through O&M funds provided under this Act. Makes funds appropriated for such purpose available for three fiscal years. Allocates such funds among specified CTR programs. Prohibits such funds from being used for purposes other than those specified until 30 days after the Secretary reports to Congress on such purposes. Provides limited authority to vary allocated amounts in the national interest, after congressional notification.
(Sec. 1203) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2000 to waive certain limitations on the use of DOD funds for a chemical weapons destruction facility in Russia, provided the President makes a specified certification to Congress with respect to such waiver.
(Sec. 1204) Amends the Strom Thurmond NDAA for Fiscal Year 1999 to require the inclusion in annual DOD budget justification materials of certain descriptive summaries of CTR programs, projects, activities, and assistance.
Title XIII: Medical Readiness Tracking and Health Surveillance - (Sec. 1301) Directs the Secretary to develop a comprehensive plan to improve medical readiness, and DOD tracking of the health status, of members of the Armed Forces throughout their military service, and to strengthen medical readiness and tracking before, during, and after overseas deployment. Requires the Secretary to establish a Joint Medical Readiness Oversight Committee to oversee the development and implementation of such plan, and to undertake related advisory and assistance services.
(Sec. 1302) Directs the CG to: (1) carry out a study of the health of reserve members who have been called or ordered to active duty for a period of more than 30 days in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom; and (2) report review results to the defense committees. Requires the Secretary to issue a policy to ensure that individual members and commanders of reserve units fulfill their responsibilities for medical and dental readiness of such members, such policy to include frequent member health assessments and follow-up care. Directs the Secretary to prescribe, for uniform application throughout the military departments, a policy on deferral of medical treatment of members pending deployment.
(Sec. 1303) Directs the Secretary to carry out a program to: (1) collect baseline health data from all persons entering the Armed Forces; (2) provide for the computerized compilation and maintenance of such data; and (3) analyze the data. Outlines interim standards under the current medical tracking system for blood samples necessary for predeployment examination of members.
(Sec. 1304) Requires the Secretary to: (1) prescribe a policy that requires the records of all medical care provided to a member in a theater of operations to be maintained as part of a complete health record for the member; (2) evaluate the system for the medical tracking and health surveillance of such members and take necessary action to improve such system; and (3) report to the defense committees on actions taken. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a plan for obtaining all records of medical treatment provided to members by U.S. allies in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom; and (2) prescribe a DOD policy on the collection and dissemination of in-theater individual personnel location data.
(Sec. 1305) Directs the Secretary to: (1) review and revise DOD classification policies to facilitate the declassification of data that is potentially useful for the monitoring and assessment of the health of members who have been exposed to environmental hazards during overseas deployments; and (2) consult with senior commanders of in-theater forces of the combatant commands in carrying out such review and revision.
(Sec. 1306) Directs the: (1) Secretary to report to the defense committees on the training in environmental hazards that is provided by the Armed Forces to military medical personnel who are deployable to the field in direct support of combat personnel; and (2) Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs to report to such committees on DOD responses to concerns expressed by members during post-deployment health assessments about possibilities to exposure to environmental hazards during such deployment.
(Sec. 1307) Directs the Secretary to prescribe a policy that requires commanders of installations at which members are to be processed upon redeployment from an overseas deployment to: (1) identify and analyze the anticipated health care needs of such members before their arrival at that installation; and (2) report such needs to the Secretary.
(Sec. 1308) Requires the Secretary to take necessary actions to ensure full implementation among the military departments of the: (1) Medical Readiness Tracking and Health Surveillance Program (as created under this title); and (2) Force Health Protection and Readiness Program.
(Sec. 1309) Directs the Secretary to: (1) report annually to the defense committees on DOD's Force Health Protection Quality Assurance Program; and (2) issue annually a report on the compliance by military departments with applicable policies on the recording of health assessment data in military personnel records. Requires the Chief Information Officer of each military department to ensure that the online portal website of that department includes specified health assessment information of its members.
(Sec. 1310) States that nothing in this title shall be construed to limit the authority of the Secretary to procure the services of private experts for performing any function to comply with requirements for members' readiness tracking and health surveillance.
Division B: Military Construction Authorizations - Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 - Title XXI [sic]: Army - (Sec. 2101) 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 such Secretary to construct or acquire family housing units, carry out architectural planning and design activities, and improve existing military family housing in specified amounts. Authorizes appropriations to the Army for fiscal years after 2004 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. 2105) Amends the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year: (1) 2004 to increase the amounts authorized for projects at Fort Stewart, Georgia, and Fort Drum, New York; and (2) 2003 to increase the amount authorized for a project at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
Title XXII: Navy - (Sec. 2201) Provides, with respect to the Navy, authorizations paralleling those provided for the Army under the previous title.
(Sec. 2205) Amends the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 to increase the amount authorized for a project described under "Various Locations, CONUS."
Title XXIII: Air Force - (Sec. 2301) Provides, with respect to the Air Force, authorizations paralleling those provided for the Army under title XXI.
(Sec. 2304) Reduces by $5.5 million the amount authorized for Air Force personnel.
Title XXIV: Defense Agencies - (Sec. 2401) 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 improve existing military family housing units and to carry out energy conservation projects. Authorizes appropriations to DOD for fiscal years after 2004 for military construction, land acquisition, and military family housing functions of DOD. Limits the total cost of construction projects authorized by this title.
Title XXV: North Atlantic Treaty Organization Security Investment Program - (Sec. 2501) Authorizes the Secretary to make contributions for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Security Investment Program and authorizes appropriations for fiscal years after 2004 for such Program.
Title XXVI: Guard and Reserve Forces Facilities - (Sec. 2601) Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years after 2004 for National Guard and reserve forces for acquisition, architectural and engineering services, and construction of facilities.
Title XXVII: Expiration and Extension of Authorizations - (Sec. 2701) Terminates all authorizations contained in titles XXI through XXVI of this Act on October 1, 2007, or the date of enactment of an Act authorizing funds for military construction for FY 2008, whichever is later, with exceptions. Extends certain prior-year military construction projects.
Title XXVIII: General Provisions - Subtitle A: Military Construction Program and Military Family Housing Changes - (Sec. 2801) Increases the thresholds (prior to certain congressional notification requirements) for unspecified minor military construction projects not otherwise authorized by law.
(Sec. 2802) Increases from $5 million to $7.5 million the threshold for facility repairs before prior approval is required from the Secretary concerned.
(Sec. 2803) Provides additional reporting requirements with respect to alternative authority for the acquisition and improvement of military housing.
(Sec. 2804) Outlines contract terms for the lease by the Secretary concerned of housing units for military family or unaccompanied housing. Makes the authority of the Secretary concerned to invest in an entity carrying out projects for the construction or acquisition of such housing subject to the availability of appropriations for such purpose.
Repeals provisions authorizing the Secretary concerned to: (1) enter into housing rental guarantees with lessors; (2) enter into differential lease payment agreements; and (3) assign members to acquired or constructed housing units.
Increases the total budget authority for contracts for the acquisition or construction of military family housing.
Subtitle B: Real Property and Facilities Administration - (Sec. 2811) Consolidates and reorganizes existing provisions relating to DOD real property transactions and the use of DOD facilities.
(Sec. 2812) Revises definitions and authorities with respect to reserve facilities, including the authority to carry out small projects using O&M funds.
(Sec. 2813) Allows the Secretary to authorize each department Secretary to carry out projects to assess the feasibility and advisability of obtaining new facilities and lands for their respective reserve component through the exchange or sale of existing facilities or lands of such reserves. Outlines authorized transactions and requirements for replacement facilities. Requires the receipt of fair market value in connection with such transactions. Directs the Secretary concerned to use competitive procedures in land exchange transactions. Prohibits the Secretary concerned from entering into such a transaction until 30 days after reporting to the defense and appropriations committees on the transaction agreement. Provides for the deposit of funds received from such transactions. Requires a report from the Secretary to such committees on the exercise of any exchange authority. Terminates such authority after September 30, 2006.
(Sec. 2814) Amends the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 to repeal the authority of the Secretary to recommend that installations be placed in inactive status (and therefore protected from closure or realignment) during a round of base closures and realignments.
Subtitle C: Land Conveyances - (Sec. 2821) Authorizes the Secretary of: (1) the Army to transfer to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs administrative jurisdiction over a portion of the Defense Supply Center in Columbus, Ohio, for use as a new outpatient clinic for veterans' medical services; (2) the Army to convey to the State of Utah a parcel of real property at the Browning Army Reserve Center, Utah, for the construction and operation of a veterans' nursing care facility; (3) Defense to convey to Arlington County, Virginia, a parcel of real property along the western boundary of the Navy Annex property, Virginia, for the construction of a freedmen heritage museum and an Arlington history museum; (4) the Army to convey to the Hampton City School Board, Virginia, the Butler Farm U.S. Army Reserve Center, Virginia, for use for public education purposes; (5) the Army to convey to the State of Washington a portion of the National Guard Facility, Pier 91, Washington, for enabling such State to convey such facility unencumbered for economic development purposes; (6) the Navy to transfer to the Administrator of General Services administrative jurisdiction over the Nebraska Avenue Complex in the District of Columbia, to accommodate the Department of Homeland Security; (7) the Navy to convey to the city and county of Honolulu, Hawaii, a parcel of real property on Valkenberg Avenue in Honolulu, to enhance the capability of the city and county to provide fire protection and firefighting services to civilian and military properties in the area, as well as firefighting training; (8) the Navy to convey to the city of Portsmouth, Virginia, the Navy YMCA Building in Portsmouth, for economic revitalization purposes; (9) the Air Force to convey to the Oneida County Industrial Development Agency, New York, a parcel of real property comprising a portion of the former Griffiss Air Force Base, New York, for economic development purposes; (10) the Air Force to convey to the city of Montgomery, Alabama, the Maxwell Heights Housing site at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, in exchange for real property contiguous to such Base; (11) Navy to convey to the State of Maryland a portion of the Naval Air Station, Patuxent River, Maryland, in exchange for a parcel of real property in Point Lookout State Park, Maryland; (12) Air Force to convey to the March Joint Powers Authority a parcel of real property containing the former Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office facility for March Air Force Base, California, for economic development and revitalization; (13) Army to convey to an entity selected by the Board of Commissioners of Johnson County, Kansas, the Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant in Kansas, for economic development and revitalization; (14) Navy to convey to the Berkeley County Sanitation Authority, South Carolina, a portion of the Naval Weapons Station in Charleston, for the expansion of an existing sewage treatment plant; and (15) Army to convey to the State of Louisiana a portion of the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant in Doyline, Louisiana, for military training purposes.
(Sec. 2836) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1999 to authorize the Secretary of the Army to convey to the city of Charleston, South Carolina (previously there was no named recipient) the property known as the Equipment and Storage Yard on Meeting Street in Charleston.
Subtitle D: Other Matters - (Sec. 2841) Authorizes the Secretary to carry out the Department of Defense Follow-On Laboratory Revitalization Demonstration Program for the revitalization of DOD laboratories. Increases minor construction threshold amounts for any military construction project carried out under the Program. Requires a Program report from the Secretary to the defense and appropriations committees. Terminates the Program on September 30, 2006.
(Sec. 2842) Deems various parcels of real property within the boundaries of Umatilla Chemical Depot, Oregon, no longer suitable for return to the public domain, and transfers such parcels to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Army for purposes of management and disposal under the base closure laws.
(Sec. 2843) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to enter into an agreement with the Army Historical Foundation for the design, construction, and operation of a facility or group of facilities at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, for the National Museum of the United States Army. Authorizes the Commander of the United States Army Center of Military History to accept gifts and bequests valued at up to $250,000 for the benefit of the Museum or the Center.
(Sec. 2844) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to pay specified funds to the Oakland Base Reuse Authority and the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Oakland, California, in settlement of certain claims.
(Sec. 2855) Directs the CG to report to the defense committees assessing the DOD policy with regard to the closure of defense dependent elementary and secondary schools and commissary stores.
Title XXIX: Maritime Administration - (Sec. 2901) Amends the Maritime Security Act of 2003 to require the Secretary of Transportation, in providing financial assistance for the construction of tank vessels to be used for both commercial and, if necessary, national defense purposes, to give priority consideration to a proposal submitted by an applicant who has been accepted for participation in the Shipboard Technology Evaluation Program as outlined in a specified Circular issued by the Commandant of the Coast Guard on January 2, 2004.
Division C: Department of Energy National Security Authorizations and Other Authorizations - Title XXXI [sic]: Department of Energy National Security Programs - Subtitle A: National Security Programs Authorizations - (Sec. 3101) Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Energy (DOE) for FY 2005 for: (1) activities of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in carrying out programs necessary for national security, with specified allocations for weapons activities, defense nuclear nonproliferation activities, naval reactors, and the Office of the Administrator for Nuclear Security (Administrator); and (2) environmental restoration and waste management activities in carrying out national security programs, with specified allocations for defense environmental management, other defense activities, and defense nuclear waste disposal.
Subtitle B: Program Authorizations, Restrictions, and Limitations - (Sec. 3111) Limits NNSA funding to 50 percent of authorized amounts until 30 days after the latter of: (1) the submission of a revised nuclear weapons stockpile plan in connection with the Conference Report on H.R. 2754 of the 108th Congress; or (2) the date on which the Administrator submits to the defense and appropriations committees a report setting forth the validated pit production requirements for the Modern Pit Facility.
(Sec. 3112) Prohibits funds authorized under this title from being obligated or expended for additional or exploratory studies under the Advanced Nuclear Weapons Concepts Initiative until 30 days after the Administrator submits to the defense and appropriations committees a detailed report on activities under the Initiative that are planned for FY 2005.
(Sec. 3113) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004 to allow new projects under the Facilities and Infrastructure Recapitalization Program after its deadline of December 31, 2004, if the Administrator approves the project. Prohibits funds from being so obligated or expended until 60 days after the Administrator submits to the defense and appropriations committees a notice of the new project and related information. Limits to five the total number of projects that may be carried out in a fiscal year under such authority.
(Sec. 3114) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2002 to revise milestone and reporting requirements relating to the National Ignition Facility. Requires the Administrator to report to the defense and appropriations committees on the milestones of the Facility to achieve ignition. Extends through 2011 (currently 2004) certain notification and reporting requirements with respect to such Facility.
(Sec. 3115) Amends the Atomic Energy Defense Act to revise the annual date of submission of a plan for the stewardship, management, and certification of warheads in the nuclear weapons stockpile.
(Sec. 3116) Excludes certain radioactive material resulting from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel from those materials stored at a DOE which may be regulated by the State pursuant to an approved closure plan or permit.
(Sec. 3117) Directs the Secretary of Energy (Secretary, for purposes of this title only) to contract with the National Research Council of the National Academies to conduct a study of the necessary technologies and research gaps in DOE's program to remove high-level radioactive waste from storage tanks at nuclear facility sites in South Carolina, Washington, and Idaho. Requires the Council to: (1) conduct the study within the one-year period after entering into the contract; and (2) submit its findings and recommendations to the Secretary and relevant congressional committees. Provides funding from environmental management funds authorized under this title.
(Sec. 3118) Amends the Atomic Energy Defense Act to require the Secretary to submit to Congress an annual report on expenditures for nuclear safeguards and security.
(Sec. 3119) Authorizes the Secretary to consolidate the counterintelligence programs and functions of DOE within the Office of Defense Nuclear Counterintelligence of the NNSA. Requires the Secretary, with regard to such consolidation, to ensure that counterintelligence capabilities of DOE and NNSA are in no way degraded or compromised. Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense and appropriations committees on the exercise of such authority.
(Sec. 3120) Earmarks funds authorized under this title for the treatment of waste material at the following nuclear sites: (1) the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory; (2) the Savannah River (South Carolina) site; and (3) the Hanford (Washington) site.
(Sec. 3121) Directs the Secretary to establish for each DOE Environmental Management 2006 closure site a local stakeholder organization to: (1) solicit and encourage public participation in appropriate activities relating to the closure of the site; and (2) disseminate information on the site's closure and post-closure operations to the State, local, and tribal governments affected by the closure, as well as persons and entities having a stake in the closure. Requires such an organization to be established at least six months before a site's closure.
(Sec. 3122) Requires the Assistant Secretary of Energy to report to the Secretary on the maintenance of retirement benefits for workers at DOE 2006 closure sites after such closures. Directs the Secretary to transmit such report to Congress, together with comments and recommendations.
(Sec. 3123) Directs the Administrator to contract with a federally funded research and development center for a study to assess NNSA efforts to understand the aging of plutonium in nuclear weapons. Requires a findings report from the Administrator to Congress.
Subtitle C: Proliferation Matters - (Sec. 3131) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004 to repeal the $50 million fiscal year limit on the total amount of international nuclear materials protection and cooperation program funds that may be obligated or expended by the President for a defense nuclear nonproliferation project or activity outside the states of the former Soviet Union.
(Sec. 3132) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the security of fissile and radiological materials and related equipment at vulnerable sites worldwide should be a top priority for U.S. national security; and (2) the President may establish in DOE a task force to carry out a program for such purposes. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a program to undertake a worldwide effort to mitigate the threats posed by such materials at such sites. Outlines program elements. Requires an interim and final program report from the Secretary to Congress. Provides funding from DOE nuclear nonproliferation funds.
Subtitle D: Other Matters - (Sec. 3141) Amends the Atomic Energy Act to extend through: (1) 2006 (currently 2004) the authority of the Secretary to enter into indemnification agreements with DOE contractors conducting activities that involve the risk of public liability and are not subject to other financial protection agreements; and (2) FY 2006 (currently FY 2004) the authority for DOE appointment of certain scientific, engineering, and technical personnel.
(Sec. 3143) Amends the Spence Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to select physician members under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program based on experience and competency in diagnosing occupational illnesses.
(Sec. 3144) Directs the Secretary to require that the primary management and operations contract for Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, contains terms requiring the contractor to provide support to the Los Alamos Public School District for the elementary and secondary education of students in the amount of $8 million per fiscal year.
(Sec. 3145) Directs the Secretary to use competitive procedures in contracting for the conduct of independent reviews and evaluations of the design, construction, and operations of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico as they relate to the protection of the public health and safety and the environment. Outlines contract requirements.
(Sec. 3146) Establishes in the Treasury the Pajarito Plateau Homesteaders Compensation Fund for the settlement of two lawsuits involving the U.S. acquisition of certain lands in New Mexico for the Manhattan Project (nuclear testing) conducted during World War II. Outlines judicial procedures with respect to the consolidated lawsuits. Provides Fund funding from amounts authorized for the NNSA under this title.
Subtitle E: Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program - (Sec. 3151) Amends the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program (Program) Act of 2000 (EEOICPA) to cover under such DOE Program individual employees: (1) at an atomic weapons employer facility with respect to which the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health found a potential for significant residual contamination outside of the period in which weapons-related production occurred; and (2) during a period of significant residual contamination at such facility.
(Sec. 3152) Instructs the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to submit to Congress updated reports regarding residual contamination in such facilities.
(Sec. 3153) Amends EEOICPA to provide for worker compensation benefit payments to contractor employees of DOE who were exposed to toxic substances at DOE facilities. (This new Subtitle D replaces the current provisions for DOE assistance to such employees in State workers compensation proceedings, but allows such workers to elect to seek compensation under the appropriate State system rather than the DOE replacement program.) Requires the Secretary of Labor to make determinations with respect to employee coverage under the DOE Program.
Establishes within the Department of Labor the Office of the Ombudsman to assist individuals in making claims under this Subtitle, provide benefits information, and undertake related activities.
Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 and thereafter to the Secretary of Labor to carry out this Subtitle.
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Energy should: (1) adopt a policy not to oppose any final determination with respect to injured workers at DOE facilities and atomic weapons employer facilities under State adjudication systems unless such determinations are frivolous; and (2) incorporate such policy in all DOE contracts with non-Federal entities. Provides additional funding. Terminates prior enhancements to the DOE Program.
(Sec. 3155) Expresses the sense of the Senate encouraging the Ombudsman to: (1) review the availability of assistance under the DOE Program for energy employees in the western New York and Pennsylvania region; and (2) recommend a location in that region for a resource center to provide assistance to such employees.
(Sec. 3156) Requires congressional review within 60 (currently 180) days of individuals designated by the President for membership within the Special Exposure Cohort.
(Sec. 3157) Includes within the above Cohort certain employees who, during their employment at a facility operated under contract to DOE by Mallinkrodt Incorporated, or by the Mason & Hangar-Silas Company at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant: (1) were monitored through the use of dosimetry badges for exposure of the external parts of the employee's body to radiation; (2) were monitored through the use of bioassays, in vivo monitoring, or breath samples for exposure to internal radiation; or (3) worked at a job that had exposures comparable to a job that is monitored under DOE standards through the use of dosimetry badges for monitoring external radiation exposures, or bioassays, in vivo monitoring, or breath samples for internal radiation exposures. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 and thereafter under the benefits program for members of the Cohort.
Title XXXII: Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board - (Sec. 3201) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.
Title XXXIII: National Defense Stockpile - (Sec. 3301) Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to dispose of up to 50,000 tons of ferromanganese from the National Defense Stockpile (NDS) during FY 2005. Authorizes the disposal of up to 50,000 additional tons before such date after the first disposal is completed. Requires the Secretary, with respect to each disposal, to certify to the defense and appropriations committees that the disposal is: (1) in the national interest; (2) will not cause undue harm to domestic manufacturers of ferroalloys; and (3) consistent with requirements under the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act.
(Sec. 3302) Amends the Strom Thurmond NDAA for Fiscal Year 1999 to provide a receipts objective of $870 million by the end of FY 2014 with respect to certain previously-authorized disposals from the NDS.
(Sec. 3303) Prohibits the Secretary from storing mercury from the NDS that is not owned or leased by the United States.
Title XXXIV: Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act - Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act of 2004 - (Sec. 3404) Authorizes the Attorney General to provide technical, forensic, prosecutorial, or other assistance in the criminal investigation or prosecution of any crime that: (1) constitutes a crime of violence under Federal law or a felony under State or Indian tribal law; and (2) is motivated by prejudice based on the race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability of the victim or is a violation of the hate crime laws of the State or tribe. Directs the Attorney General to give assistance priority to crimes committed by offenders who have committed crimes in more than one State, and to rural jurisdictions that have difficulty covering the extraordinary investigation or prosecution expenses.
Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to assist State, local, and Indian law enforcement officials with such extraordinary expenses. Directs the Office of Justice Programs to: (1) work closely with funded jurisdictions to ensure that the concerns and needs of all affected parties are addressed; and (2) award grants to State and local programs designed to combat hate crimes committed by juveniles. Authorizes appropriations for the grant programs.
(Sec. 3406) Authorizes appropriations to the Departments of the Treasury and Justice for fiscal years 2005 through 2007 to increase the number of personnel employed to prevent and respond to such crimes.
(Sec. 3407) Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit specified offenses involving actual or perceived race, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.
(Sec. 3408) Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to study and provide sentencing enhancements for adult recruitment of juveniles to commit hate crimes.
(Sec. 3409) Amends the Hate Crimes Statistics Act to require crime data collected and published by the Attorney General to include data about crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on gender.
Title XXXV: Assistance to Firefighters - Assistance to Firefighters Act of 2004 - (Sec. 3502) Amends the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security (currently, the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)) to make grants to State fire departments for protecting the health and safety of the public and firefighting personnel against fire and fire-related hazards, and for providing assistance for fire prevention programs. Authorizes grants to: (1) volunteer emergency medical service (EMS) organizations; and (2) obtain automated external defibrillator devices.
(Sec. 3505) Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to: (1) establish specific criteria for the preliminary review of grant applications; (2) review such criteria at least annually; (3) award grants based on the review of applications by a panel of fire service personnel appointed by a national organization recognized for expertise in the operation and administration of fire services; (4) provide for the administration of the review panel and ensure that an individual appointed to such panel is a recognized expert in firefighting, medical services provided by fire services, fire prevention, or research on firefighter safety; and (5) provide assistance with the preparation of grant applications.
(Sec. 3506) Expands program eligibility.
(Sec. 3508) Reduces limitations regarding matching funds.
(Sec. 3509) Increases the amount a grant recipient may receive. Authorizes a waiver of grant limits based on extraordinary need for assistance for fire suppression. Earmarks funds for volunteer EMS organizations.
(Sec. 3511) Directs: (1) the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) to study and report to Congress on firefighter assistance; (2) CG to report to Congress on the administration of such assistance and on the Secretary's success in administering FEMA; and (3) Secretary to report to Congress any instances of the use of the grant limit waiver authority.
(Sec. 3513) Authorizes appropriations for FY: (1) 2005 through 2010 for the firefighter assistance program; and (2) 2005 for the study on assistance to firefighters.
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 - Division A: Department of Defense Authorizations - Title I: Procurement - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - (Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for 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 2005 for defense-wide procurement.
Subtitle B: Program Matters - (Sec. 111) Authorizes the Secretaries of the Army and Navy, beginning with the FY 2005 program year, to jointly enter into a multiyear contract for procurement of the lightweight 155-millimeter howitzer.
(Sec. 112) Directs the Secretary of the Navy to: (1) accelerate the program for in-service modernization of the DDG-51 class of destroyers; and (2) report to the congressional defense and appropriations committees on steps taken under the program.
(Sec. 113) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2004 to repeal the authority for a pilot program for flexible funding of naval cruiser conversions and overhauls.
(Sec. 114) Directs the Secretary of Defense (Secretary) to require the Secretary of each military department (Secretary concerned) to perform an assessment of the survivability and suitability against asymmetrical threats of each manned ground system or warfighting survivability system, and manned airborne system, that may be required to deploy in an asymmetrical threat environment. Requires assessment completion by July 1, 2005. Directs the Secretary to require the Secretary concerned to either take specified force protection or survivability steps with respect to such system or restrict the system from deployment to an asymmetrical threat environment. Authorizes the Secretary to waive such requirements with respect to a system if the Secretary determines that, but for such waiver, the Department of Defense (DOD) would be unable to meet national security objectives. Directs the Secretary to require the department Secretaries to include consideration of survivability and suitability against asymmetrical threats for each military acquisition program that has not entered low-rate initial production as of the date of enactment of this Act.
(Sec. 115) Directs the Secretary to provide that, in the allocation to operational units of equipment acquired using funds authorized to be appropriated by this title, priority be given to units that are deployed to, or preparing to deploy to, Operations Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom, regardless of the status of those units as active, Guard, or reserve components.
(Sec. 116) Authorizes the Secretary of the Air Force, beginning with the FY 2005 program year, to enter into a multiyear contract for procurement of 80 KC-767 tanker aircraft.
(Sec. 117) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) aerial refueling capacity for the Armed Forces is critical; (2) the Nation must expeditiously proceed with a program to replace the Air Force's aging fleet of aerial refueling tankers; (3) DOD, in pursuing such a program, should take full advantage of the U.S. commercial aircraft production base; and (4) anyone suspected of involvement in improper or illegal activities associated with such a program should be investigated and, if warranted, prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Directs the Secretary of the Air Force to enter into a contract for the Air Force multiyear tanker aircraft program, provided that any such contract is negotiated after June 1, 2004. Requires the: (1) Secretary to provide for an outside-DOD panel to review any proposed contract; and (2) panel to report review results to the Secretary of the Air Force and the defense and appropriations committees.
(Sec. 118) Increases, by a specified amount, Army missile procurement funds, to be available for Patriot missiles. Offsets such amount from specified DOD accounts.
(Sec. 119) Increases, by a specified amount, Army aircraft funds, to be available for procurement of: (1) the Aircraft Wireless Intercom System; and (2) bladefold kits for Apache helicopters. Offsets such amount from other Army procurement accounts.
Title II: Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - (Sec. 201) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for the Armed Forces for research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E). Earmarks specified amounts for the Defense Science and Technology Program.
(Sec. 203) Increases by specified amounts funds provided for RDT&E for: (1) the Navy for nano-composite hard-coat for aircraft canopies; and (2) the Air Force for command-and-control service level management.
Subtitle B: Program Requirements, Restrictions, and Limitations - (Sec. 211) Directs the Secretary of the Army to establish and implement a program strategy for the Army's Future Combat Systems acquisition program. Outlines program strategy elements. Requires the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, before convening the Milestone B update for such program, to submit to Congress an independent program cost estimate, together with related reports concerning such program. Limits program funding until the Secretary of the Army certifies to Congress that such program strategy has been established and implemented.
(Sec. 212) Directs the Secretary to establish a program for research and development in advanced vacuum electronics to meet the requirements of DOD electromagnetic systems. Requires a report from the Director of Defense Research and Engineering to the defense and appropriations committees on program implementation. Provides funding from RDT&E funds authorized under this title.
(Sec. 213) Directs the Comptroller General (CG) to: (1) conduct an annual review of the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft program; (2) report annually to Congress on the most recent review; and (3) with each such report, certify whether the CG has had access to sufficient information to make informed judgments on matters covered by the report. Terminates report requirements after March 15, 2009.
(Sec. 214) Requires that amounts for RDT&E for the U.S. Joint Forces Command be derived only from amounts made available to DOD for defense-wide RDT&E. Requires any such amount to be set forth separately in annual budget requests.
(Sec. 215) Prohibits the Secretary, in carrying out the space-based radar program, from authorizing that program to proceed into the system development and procurement phase known as Milestone B until: (1) the Secretary has reported to the defense, appropriations, and intelligence committees on such program; and (2) 30 days has elapsed since such report.
(Sec. 216) Earmarks specified RDT&E funds for the Mark-54 torpedo product improvement program.
Subtitle C: Ballistic Missile Defense - (Sec. 221) Authorizes funds appropriated for FY 2005 or 2006 for RDT&E for the Missile Defense Agency to be used for the development and fielding of ballistic missile defense capabilities.
Title III: Operation and Maintenance - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - (Sec. 301) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for operation and maintenance (O&M) for the Armed Forces and specified activities and agencies of DOD.
(Sec. 302) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for: (1) working capital funds; (2) the Defense Health Program; (3) chemical agents and munitions destruction, defense; (4) defense drug interdiction and counter-drug activities; and (5) the Defense Inspector General.
(Sec. 304) Authorizes the Secretary to reimburse a member of the Armed Forces for the cost of protective body armor purchased by the member, or by another person on behalf of the member, for member use while deployed in connection with Operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, or Iraqi Freedom if the member was not issued protective armor before engaging in any such Operation. Allows such reimbursement with respect to armor purchased during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, and ending on December 31, 2003.
(Sec. 305) Reduces, by $10 million, authorized Air Force O&M funds, to be derived from the transportation working capital fund.
(Sec. 306) Directs the Secretary to take necessary steps to eliminate the current backlog in the processing of forensic evidence collection kits used by DOD and to ensure an adequate supply of such kits for all domestic and overseas military installations.
Subtitle B: Environmental Provisions - (Sec. 311) Directs the Secretary of the Air Force to prepare and submit to the defense committees a report that outlines current and anticipated encroachments on the use and utility of the special use airspace of the Utah Test and Training Range, including encroachments brought about through actions of other Federal agencies.
Subtitle C: Workplace and Depot Issues - (Sec. 321) Modifies the due dates with respect to annual reporting requirements concerning funds expended for the performance of depot maintenance and repair workloads by the public and private sectors.
(Sec. 322) Repeals an annual reporting requirement from the Secretary to the defense committees on the number of employees performing depot-level maintenance and repair of materiel.
(Sec. 323) Prohibits a depot-level maintenance and repair function currently performed by ten or more DOD civilian employees from being converted to performance by a contractor unless the conversion is based on the results of a public-private competition process that, among other things, includes a cost comparison and a most efficient organization plan. Authorizes the Secretary to waive the competition requirement in specified instances, including compelling national security interests.
(Sec. 324) Directs the Secretary, during FY 2005 and 2006, to establish a pilot program to examine the use of the public-private competition process of Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76 on new requirements and functions currently being performed by contractors that could be performed by civilian DOD employees. Outlines program requirements and limitations. Authorizes the waiver of the pilot program for compelling national security reasons. Requires a report from the DOD Inspector General to Congress for each year of the program.
(Sec. 325) Expresses the sense of Congress that DOD civilian and contractor employees, and their representatives, have comparable access to relevant information and legal standing to challenge the way a public-private contract competition has been conducted.
(Sec. 326) Requires the DOD Inspector General to report to Congress whether DOD: (1) employs a sufficient number of trained civilian employees to conduct all of the public-private competitions scheduled to be undertaken by DOD; and (2) has implemented a reliable system to track and assess the cost and quality of the performance of DOD functions by service contractors.
Subtitle D: Information Technology - (Sec. 331) Directs the Secretary to prepare, and report to the defense and appropriations committees on, a plan to provide for the transition of DOD information technology systems to Internet Protocol version 6 from the present use of version 4 and other network protocols.
(Sec. 332) Outlines, effective January 1, 2005, required conditions prior to the obligation of DOD funds for a defense business system modernization having a total cost in excess of $1 million, including that: (1) such system comply with a specified enterprise architecture; and (2) certification of such system has been approved by the Defense Business Systems Management Committee. Requires a defense business system investment review by an investment review board. Directs the Secretary to include information concerning each defense business system modernization in annual budget materials submitted to Congress. Requires compliance reports from the Secretary to the defense and appropriations committees in each of the years 2005 through 2009.
(Sec. 333) Directs the Secretary to: (1) designate a single joint program office in DOD for the management of battlefield management and control systems of the Armed Forces, known as the Family of Interoperable Pictures, to improve the interoperability of such systems so that members of the Armed Forces may access a common operational picture of the battlefield; and (2) develop, implement, and maintain a common systems architecture for all such systems.
Subtitle E: Readiness Reporting Requirements - (Sec. 341) Requires an annual report from the Secretary to Congress on DOD operations and financial support for military museums.
(Sec. 342) Directs the Secretary to assess, and report to Congress on, DOD programs for the prepositioning of material and equipment.
Subtitle F: Other Matters - (Sec. 351) Amends the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (Spence Act) to extend through FY 2008 a demonstration program to maintain the viability and unique capabilities at Army manufacturing arsenals.
(Sec. 352) Prohibits FY 2005 DOD O&M funds from being obligated for preparing or implementing the Mid-Range Financial Improvement Plan until the Secretary reports to the defense and appropriations committees: (1) an explanation of the use of such funds; and (2) an estimate of the future-years cost to prepare and implement the Plan.
(Sec. 353) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to consider bids or proposals for follow-on Navy contracts for the operation of five Champion-class T-5 tank vessels only from an entity that is a citizen as defined under the Shipping Act, 1916.
(Sec. 354) Recognizes the Liberty Memorial Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, as America's National World War I Museum.
Title IV: Military Personnel Authorizations - Subtitle A: Active Forces - (Sec. 401) Sets forth authorized end strengths for active-duty forces as of the end of FY 2005.
(Sec. 402) Revises, effective October 1, 2004, the permanent active-duty end strength minimum levels for the Navy and Air Force.
(Sec. 403) Sets forth the maximum number of reserve personnel authorized to be on active duty for operational support during FY 2005.
(Sec. 404) Requires Congress to annually authorize the maximum number of reserve personnel permitted to be on: (1) active duty or full-time National Guard duty for providing operational support or preparing for and performing military funeral honors functions; and (2) active duty (or retained on active duty) while in a captive status or for medical evaluation or treatment. Includes certain reserve personnel within annual authorized active-duty end strength limits. Authorizes the Secretary to increase such end strength limits for a fiscal year by up to ten percent. Excludes: (1) certain reserve and National Guard personnel from annual authorized active-duty end strength limits; and (2) from specified personnel limits reserve personnel engaged in military-to-military contacts and comparable activities. Provides for: (1) field grade officer strength accounting; and (2) active Guard and reserve field grade officer strength accounting. Excludes from warrant officer active-duty end strength limits reserve warrant officers: (1) on active duty for any of the first two purposes specified in this section; or (2) on full-time National Guard duty. Repeals the requirement that members of the National Guard on active duty or full-time National Guard duty for performing drug interdiction and counter-drug activities be excluded from the authorized end strengths for reserve personnel performing active duty in support of the reserve components. Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense committees on the exclusions from active-duty end strengths provided under this section.
Subtitle B: Reserve Forces - (Sec. 411) Sets forth authorized end strengths as of the end of FY 2005 for members of the Selected Reserve and reserve personnel on active duty in support of the reserves.
(Sec. 413) Sets forth the minimum end strength for FY 2005 for Army and Air Force dual status military technicians.
(Sec. 414) Places specified FY 2005 limits on the number of non-dual status technicians authorized to be employed by the Army and Air National Guard.
Subtitle C: Authorization of Appropriations - (Sec. 421) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for: (1) military personnel; and (2) the Armed Forces Retirement Home.
Title V: Military Personnel Policy - Subtitle A: General and Flag Officer Matters - (Sec. 501) Authorizes the President to extend the service of Chief of Staff of the Army or the Air Force, Chief of Naval Operations, or Commandant of the Marine Corps for an additional period (following a four-year term) of up to two years. Authorizes the President, in time of war or national emergency, to extend such service for additional periods, except that the total period of such service may not exceed eight years.
(Sec. 502) Repeals the requirement that Deputy and Assistant Chiefs of Naval Operations be selected from officers in the line of the Navy.
(Sec. 503) Increases from 64 to 66 the age limit for deferral of the mandatory retirement requirement for up to ten general and senior flag officers.
(Sec. 504) Allows commissioned officers in grades below lieutenant colonel or commander to be voluntarily retired upon serving satisfactorily in that grade for not less than six months. Requires officers in grades above major or lieutenant commander and below brigadier general or rear admiral (lower half) to serve satisfactorily on active duty in that grade for three years in order to be retired in that grade, except that such period may be reduced to not less than two years. Requires active duty of not less than one year for eligibility for voluntary retirement for officers in grades above colonel or captain. Allows officers in grades above major general or rear admiral to be voluntarily retired in the highest grade in which that officer satisfactorily served for at least one year. Authorizes the President to waive such time-in-grade requirements in individual cases involving extreme hardship or exceptional or unusual circumstances. Repeals a provision requiring certification by the Secretary of satisfactory service before a general, admiral, lieutenant general, or vice admiral may be retired in that grade. Requires officers in grades above colonel or captain, in order to be credited with satisfactory service in that grade, to have served satisfactorily in that grade as a reserve commissioned officer in an active status, or in a retired status on active duty, for not less than one year.
(Sec. 505) Repeals the requirement that no more than 50 percent of active-duty general and flag officers be in grades above brigadier general and rear admiral (lower half).
(Sec. 506) Codifies provisions of the NDAA for Fiscal Year 1998 relating to the terms for Assistants to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) for National Guard and Reserve Matters. Makes such terms four (currently two) years.
(Sec. 507) Provides that, upon a vacancy in the office of the Chief of the National Guard Bureau or in the event such Chief is unable to perform such duties, the senior officer of the Army or Air National Guard on duty with the Bureau shall serve as acting Chief until a successor is appointed or the Chief is able to perform such duties.
(Sec. 508) Redesignates the Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau as the Director of the Joint Staff of the National Guard Bureau.
(Sec. 509) Extends through 2006 (currently 2004) the authority to waive the requirement that reserve chiefs and National Guard directors have significant joint duty experience. Requires a plan from the Secretary, submitted to the defense committees, to ensure that all officers selected for such positions after such date have significant joint duty experience.
(Sec. 510) Repeals the requirement of a certain distribution among line and staff corps of reserve Navy general and flag officers in active status.
Subtitle B: Other Officer Personnel Policy Matters - (Sec. 511) Repeals the requirement that active-duty officers serve in a reserve component for at least one year before receiving a regular (non-reserve) commission. Authorizes the Secretary to waive the requirement that a person receiving an original appointment as a commissioned officer be a citizen of the United States in the case of a person lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence when the Secretary determines that the national security so requires, but only for an original appointment in a grade below major or lieutenant commander. Repeals limitations on the total authorized end strength of regular commissioned officers serving on active duty. Requires the President alone (currently, with the advice and consent of the Senate) to make original appointments of regular officers in junior grades (second lieutenant, lieutenant, and captain in the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps and ensign, lieutenant (junior grade), and lieutenant in the Navy). Terminates the requirement of six years of service in a reserve component for eligibility for non-regular service retirement. Requires appointment in a regular component, and service as a second lieutenant or ensign, for students graduating from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.
(Sec. 513) Revises the required distribution in grade of Marine Corps Reserve officers in an active status in grades below brigadier general.
(Sec. 514) Includes commissioned officers serving on full-time National Guard duty among those for whom the Secretary concerned may pay tuition or other educational expenses for education or training during off-duty periods. Authorizes the Secretary concerned to reduce or waive the required two years of active-duty service following the completion of such education or training in the case of: (1) a commissioned officer who is subject to mandatory separation or who has completed the period of active-duty service in support of a contingency operation; or (2) other exigent circumstances. Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to pay such educational or training expenses for an officer in the Selected Reserve of the Army National Guard or Army Reserve.
Subtitle C: Reserve Component Matters - (Sec. 521) Removes references to planned mobilizations from the statutory purposes of the reserve components.
(Sec. 522) Allows the Secretary concerned to order a member of the reserves, without the member's consent, to active duty for training. (Currently, the Secretary concerned may order a reserve member to any active duty other than for training.)
(Sec. 523) States that, for disability retirement eligibility purposes, a reserve member ordered to active duty for a period of more than 30 days who is released prior to such 30 days for failure to meet physical standards for retention, or medical or dental standards for deployment due to a preexisting condition not aggravated during such duty period, shall be considered to have been serving under an order to active duty for a period of 30 days or less.
(Sec. 524) Removes the prohibition on the receipt of Federal civil service military leave for reserve and National Guard civilian technicians performing active duty during a war or national emergency.
(Sec. 525) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to provide an individual who has received a commission as an Army Reserve officer from a military junior college but who does not have a baccalaureate degree with financial assistance for the pursuit of such a degree. Outlines agreement and reimbursement requirements in connection with such assistance. Prohibits such an officer from being called or ordered to active duty for a deployment while participating in such program. Authorizes such Secretary to provide the same financial assistance with respect to service in troop program units. Repeals the December 31, 2006, sunset on the provision of financial assistance for advanced training for Senior ROTC students not otherwise eligible for such training who have successfully completed their first year of Senior ROTC studies. Directs the Secretary of the Army to report to the defense committees annually for six years after the enactment of this Act on the implementation of the financial assistance program.
(Sec. 526) Revises a program under which the Secretary is authorized to repay certain educational loans of enlisted members of the Selected Reserve in return for service as members with critical specialties to allow the Secretary to repay such a loan in connection with service performed by a member as an officer in the case of a borrower who, after the service commitment is entered into and while performing service as an enlisted member, accepts an appointment or commission as a Selected Reserve warrant or commissioned officer. Limits to $1 million in FY 2005 the obligation of funds for the repayment of loans for such officers.
(Sec. 527) Prohibits the Secretary from establishing in any one State more than two academies for the STARBASE Program (a science, mathematics, and technology education improvement program). Authorizes a waiver of such limitation.
(Sec. 528) Directs the CG to review, and report to the defense committees on, a plan of the Secretary of the Navy for the integration of active and reserve Navy components in peacetime and wartime operations. Prohibits any funds from being obligated or expended to decommission a Naval or Marine Corps Reserve aviation squadron until 90 days after such report is received.
(Sec. 529) Authorizes the Secretary to provide funds to a State governor to employ National Guard units and individuals to conduct operational activities in the national interest. Considers any such duty as full-time National Guard duty. Authorizes a State governor to request such assistance, requiring within such request the specific intended operational activities to be undertaken and why such activities would be in the national interest. Excludes persons performing such duty from annual National Guard full-time duty end strengths.
(Sec. 530) Reduces from 5,000 to 3,500 the minimum number of active-duty personnel to serve as advisers to various units of the Selected Reserve. Directs the Secretary of the Army to report to the defense committees on the support by active components of the Army for training and readiness of the Army National Guard and Army Reserve.
Subtitle D: Joint Officer Management - (Sec. 531) Directs the Secretary to develop a strategic plan for joint officer management and joint professional military education that links joint officer development to the accomplishment of the overall missions and goals of DOD, as set forth in the most recent national military strategy. Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense committees on: (1) the developed plan; and (2) an additional assessment of the performance in joint matters of specified senior officers and DOD employees.
(Sec. 532) Extends from September 30, 2007, to September 30, 2008, the date after which an officer must be selected for the joint officer specialty before promotion to the grade of brigadier general or rear admiral (lower half).
(Sec. 533) Allows officers to continue to accumulate joint credit when serving consecutive joint duty assignments, even if those assignments are not within the same organization.
(Sec. 534) Allows the Secretary to award the joint specialty officer designation to reserve officers (currently limited to active-duty officers) meeting prescribed requirements. Requires reserve officers to be included in DOD management policies, procedures, and practices for joint specialty officers. Excludes reserve officers who have, or have been nominated for, the joint specialty from being counted against joint officer promotion policy objectives. Directs the Secretary to include in a required annual report to Congress for FY 2005 a summary of the joint officer management policies adopted for reserve officers.
Subtitle E: Professional Military Education - (Sec. 541) Codifies under Federal Armed Forces law (with slight modifications) the Statement of Congressional Policy relating to professional military education contained in the NDAA for Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991.
Directs the Secretary of each military department to require that performance on a comprehensive written examination shall constitute not less than 20 percent of the evaluation criteria for the selection of any officer for full-time attendance at an intermediate-level service school (certain military colleges). Requires such an examination for each class entering such a school after September 30, 2007.
Prohibits an officer, after September 30, 2009, from being accepted for or assigned to a program of instruction designated as joint professional military education (JPME) Phase II unless such officer has successfully completed a program of instruction designated as JPME Phase I. Authorizes the JCS Chairman to grant exceptions to such requirement on a case-by-case basis for compelling cause. Limits the number of officers so excepted to ten percent of the total number of officers selected. Outlines Phase II requirements and curriculum content, including joint attitudes and perspectives and joint warfighting skills, as well as national security strategy and theater strategy and campaigning. Prescribes student-faculty ratios when Phase II is taught at a senior level service school. Requires the length of the principal course of instruction at each intermediate and senior level school to be at least ten months, authorizing the Secretary to waive such requirement during a period of war or national emergency. Directs the Secretary to include in the annual DOD budget report to Congress specified information with respect to JPME.
(Sec. 542) Authorizes the Secretary to award a ribbon for successful completion of JPME Phase I, and a device, to wear with such ribbon, for successful completion of JPME Phase II.
(Sec. 543) Increases from ten to 20 the maximum number of employees who work in organizations relevant to national security who are eligible to receive instruction at the National Defense University.
(Sec. 544) Requires (with an authorized waiver on a case-by-case basis) that, after September 30, 2007, officers on the active duty list complete JPME Phase I or II before being appointed to the grade of colonel or Navy captain.
Subtitle F: Other Education and Training Matters - (Sec. 551) Authorizes the Secretary of each military department to establish a program to increase the number and level of qualifications of persons entering the Armed Forces as enlisted members by encouraging recruits to pursue higher education or vocational or technical training before entry into active service. Authorizes the Secretary concerned to provide for delayed entry, through service in the reserves or National Guard, while allowing for such education or training. Limits such delayed entry to 30 months after accepting an enlistment. Provides a monthly allowance during such delayed entry (requiring satisfactory service in the reserves or National Guard during such period). Requires a pro rate recoupment of such allowance for any period of service not successfully completed during the delayed entry period. Repeals a similar Army College First program under the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2000. Provides a $5 million limit in FY 2005 obligations under the delayed entry program.
(Sec. 552) Shifts the authority for conferring associate degrees at the Community College of the Air Force from the commander of the Air Education and Training Command to the commander of Air University.
(Sec. 553) Redesignates the Superintendent of the Naval Postgraduate School as the President of the Naval Postgraduate School. Establishes at such School the position of Provost and Academic Dean.
(Sec. 554) Extends from two to three years the period for which educational leave of absence may be authorized.
(Sec. 555) Makes military academy cadets and midshipmen eligible for disability retired pay for illness or injury sustained while at such academy during any period after the enactment of this Act. Makes members of, and designated applicants for membership in, the Senior ROTC eligible for medical and dental care for illness or injury sustained during such service, or while traveling to or from such service (except in cases of gross negligence or misconduct).
(Sec. 556) Authorizes the superintendent of a service academy to have in effect a policy concerning the offering of a voluntary, nondenominational prayer at an authorized academy activity.
(Sec. 557) Repeals the requirement that superintendents of the military academies retire after completion of such service. Requires such individuals to serve at least a three-year term as superintendent. Requires that, if such a superintendent is reassigned or retires before the three-year period, then the Secretary concerned must notify the defense committees of the reasons for the curtailed assignment.
(Sec. 558) Codifies under Federal Armed Forces law provisions of the NDAA for Fiscal Year 1995 which prohibit the imposition of charges for tuition, room, or board at the military academies and the U.S. Coast Guard and Merchant Marine Academies.
(Sec. 559) Requires that, if a person selected as Dean of the Air Force Academy is not an officer on active duty, then the individual must be either a retired or former officer of the Armed Forces. Requires any person appointed or assigned as Dean to hold the highest academic degree in that person's academic field.
(Sec. 560A) Constitutes an annual Board of Visitors to the United States Air Force Academy to inquire into the morale, discipline, social climate, curriculum, and other matters relating to the Academy. Requires such Board, after every meeting, to report to the Secretary and the defense committees on its views and recommendations.
(Sec. 560B) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to provide financial assistance to members of the District of Columbia National Guard for expenses leading to a recognized educational credential at an institution of higher education. Limits such assistance to $2,500 per member per year and $12,500 per member total. Requires an annual report from the Secretary to the defense and appropriations committees on the effectiveness of such program in improving recruiting and retention for the District of Columbia National Guard.
Subtitle G: Medals and Decorations and Special Promotions and Appointments - (Sec. 561) Directs the President to establish separate campaign medals to recognize service by U.S. military personnel in Operations Enduring Freedom or Iraqi Freedom.
(Sec. 562) Directs the President to extend eligibility for the National Service Medal, with respect to service on or after September 11, 2001, to members of all of the uniformed services.
(Sec. 563) Authorizes the President to appoint Brigadier General Charles E. Yeager, U.S. Air Force (retired), to the grade of major general on the Air Force retired list.
(Sec. 564) Authorizes the President to issue a posthumous commission as major general, U.S. Army, for the late William Mitchell, who resigned his commission as colonel on February 1, 1926.
(Sec. 565) Directs the Secretary of the Army to provide that, with respect to service in the Republic of Korea after July 28, 1953, the eligibility of a member of the Army for the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Combat Medical Badge shall be under criteria and requirements as identical as practicable to service elsewhere without regard to specific location or special circumstances.
(Sec. 566) Directs the Secretary of the Army to establish a combat recognition ribbon to recognize participation in combat based on service performed by members of the Army after August 1, 1990.
Subtitle H: Military Justice Matters - (Sec. 571) Directs the Secretary to: (1) review the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and the Manual for Courts-Martial to determine changes required to improve the ability of the military justice system to address issues relating to sexual assault and to conform the UCMJ and such Manual more closely to other Federal laws and regulations addressing such issues; and (2) report to the defense committees on the results of such review.
(Sec. 572) Provides that service time will not be considered lost (and therefore required to be made up) when an enlisted member or officer is confined in connection with a trial if the confinement is excused as unavoidable.
(Sec. 573) Allows a judge advocate or civilian attorney who is authorized to provide military legal assistance to provide that assistance in any jurisdiction, subject to regulations as prescribed by the Secretary concerned.
Subtitle I: Management and Administrative Matters - (Sec. 581) Extends through FY 2008 (currently FY 2005) certain limitations on reductions of military and civilian personnel assigned to the review and correction of military records.
(Sec. 582) Establishes specific minimum levels of staffing and funding for the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office. (Currently, only "sufficient" levels are required for such Office.) Prohibits reductions in such levels unless specifically authorized by law.
(Sec. 583) Directs the Secretary concerned, in issuing military ID cards to retiree dependents, to issue a permanent ID card (not subject to renewal) to any such dependent who has attained 70 years of age.
(Sec. 584) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to furnish civilian clothing, at a cost not to exceed $250, to members traveling in connection with a medical evacuation to a military medical facility or another medical facility approved by such Secretary.
(Sec. 585) Authorizes the Secretary to accept the donation of frequent traveler miles, credits, and tickets to facilitate rest and recuperation travel of deployed members of the Armed Forces and their families. Requires consent to such donation by the air or surface carrier that issued the benefit.
(Sec. 586) Prohibits amendment or cancellation of the DOD directive entitled "Personal Commercial Solicitation on DOD Installations" until one year after a General Accounting Office report containing results of an investigation regarding insurance premium allotment processing is submitted to specified congressional committees.
(Sec. 587) Directs the Secretary to report annually to the defense committees on discharges from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps during the preceding fiscal year.
(Sec. 588) Authorizes Federal recognition of National Guard commissioned officers appointed from former Coast Guard personnel.
(Sec. 589) Requires a report from the Secretary of the Air Force to Congress on the blended wing concept for the Air Force.
(Sec. 590) Provides an adjustment, with respect to the 2004-2005 school year, in the computation of impact aid funding provided by the Department of Education to certain local educational agencies heavily impacted by dependents of military personnel.
Subtitle J: Other Matters - (Sec. 591) Extends DOD employment preference provisions to spouses of DOD civilian employees who have had a change of permanent duty assignment that: (1) was based on the needs of the Government; and (2) required a relocation of the employee's residence.
(Sec. 592) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2002 to repeal the requirement that the Secretary conduct a demonstration project to permit absentee military voters to cast their ballots for the Federal election to be held in November 2004 through an electronic voting system.
(Sec. 593) Directs that the Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies, established under the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004, should: (1) continue for at least 18 additional months after their currently-scheduled termination; (2) after such additional period, change its name to the Defense Task Force on Sexual Assault in the Military Services; (3) then conduct an examination of matters relating to sexual assault in cases in which members of the Armed Forces are either victims or commit acts of sexual assault; (4) recommend ways by which civilian officials within DOD and leadership within the Armed Forces may more effectively address matters relating to sexual assault; and (5) report on examination results to the Secretaries of Defense and the military departments. Requires the Secretary to submit such report, together with an evaluation, to the defense committees. Terminates the task force 90 days after its final report.
(Sec. 594) Amends the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 (Thurmond Act) to reestablish during FY 2005 a pilot program for treating GED and home school diploma recipients as high school graduates for purposes of eligibility for enlistment.
(Sec. 595) Earmarks specified DOD O&M funds for assistance during FY 2005 to local educational agencies that benefit dependents of members of the Armed Forces and DOD civilian employees. Requires notification of such assistance from the Secretary to each eligible local educational agency.
(Sec. 596) Directs the Secretary to obtain an annual verification from colleges and universities that currently support a Senior ROTC program that, during the next academic year, such institution will: (1) permit the Secretary of each military department to maintain a unit of the Senior ROTC at that institution, should such Secretary elect to do so; and (2) if such Secretary elects not to do so, permit a student of that institution to enroll in a unit of the Senior ROTC at another institution of higher education. Requires that military recruiters be given access to college or university campuses and students that is at least equal in quality and scope to the access provided to any other employer. Includes funds made available for the Department of Homeland Security, the National Nuclear Security Administration of the Department of Energy, and the Central Intelligence Agency among the funding sources that could be terminated if an institution is found to have a policy of preventing military recruiter or Senior ROTC unit access.
(Sec. 597) Directs the Secretary to report to the: (1) defense committees on the number of positions in DOD converted during the previous fiscal year from from performance by military personnel to performance by civilian personnel; (2) defense and appropriations committees on how a system to embed certain civilian expertise skill sets within the military on a temporary basis could be implemented; (3) defense and appropriations committees on the milestones within the multiyear transformation for internal military-to-military transitions; and (4) defense and appropriations committees on the status of the internal transformation of the Army from a division-oriented system to a brigade-oriented system.
(Sec. 598) Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a comprehensive DOD policy on the prevention of and response to sexual assaults involving members of the Armed Forces; (2) submit to Congress a proposal for necessary legislation to enhance DOD capability to address such matters; and (3) ensure that the policy developed is implemented uniformly by the military departments. Requires the Secretaries concerned to: (1) take appropriate action to ensure the implementation of such policies and procedures; (2) annually assess such implementation; and (3) report annually to the Secretary on the sexual assaults involving members of that armed force. Directs the Secretary to submit each such report to the defense committees. Requires DOD, prior to the development of such policies and procedures, to develop a definition of sexual assault that is uniform for all the Armed Forces, including but not limited to rape, acquaintance rape, sexual assault, and other criminal offenses.
(Sec. 599) Authorizes the Secretary, upon application of a qualifying survivor, to provide for: (1) the removal of the remains of a former military member interred in an overseas military cemetery; and (2) transportation of such remains to a location in the United States selected by the survivor. Requires application within two years after enactment of this Act.
Title VI: Compensation and Other Personnel Benefits - Subtitle A: Pay and Allowances - (Sec. 601) Waives any FY 2005 pay increases tied to increases in the General Schedule of Compensation for Government employees. Increases, effective January 1, 2005, by 3.5 percent the rates of basic pay for military personnel.
(Sec. 602) Authorizes (currently requires) the Secretary concerned to pay a family separation basic allowance for housing when a member's dependents are unable to accompany a member to a new location.
(Sec. 603) Provides that if a member is assigned to a new area for military education or training lasting one year or less, the Secretary concerned may base the amount of the basic allowance for housing due to such member on either the duty station to which the member is reassigned or the area in which the member's dependents still reside, whichever such Secretary determines is the most equitable.
(Sec. 604) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to make an immediate lump-sum reimbursement for unusual nonrecurring expenses incurred by members serving outside the continental United States.
(Sec. 605) Requires the Secretary concerned to pay to involuntarily mobilized reserve personnel who are subject to extended and frequent active duty mobilized service the difference between the monthly compensation received during such service (including any special pay and allowances) and the average monthly income received by such members during the 12 months preceding the month of such mobilization. Outlines member eligibility requirements and minimum and maximum differential payment amounts.
(Sec. 606) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to provide a member with advance basic pay of up to three months (one month automatically at the member's request and up to two additional months based upon a showing of financial hardship) for members assigned for one year or more to locations at which imminent danger special pay is authorized.
Subtitle B: Bonuses and Special and Incentive Pays - (Sec. 611) Extends through 2005 specified authorities currently scheduled to expire at the end of 2004 with respect to certain special pay and bonus programs within the regular and reserve Armed Forces.
(Sec. 612) Reduces from four to three years the service commitment required for the nurse accession bonus.
(Sec. 613) Increases from $300 to $750 the maximum monthly authorized hardship duty pay.
(Sec. 614) Requires termination of assignment incentive pay when the member is placed on terminal leave and will not be returning to the assignment location.
(Sec. 615) Extends eligibility for the regular and reserve reenlistment bonus to members who have served at least 17 months of regular or reserve service but not more than 18 years of total service. (Currently, such eligibility is limited to members who have served at least 17 months of continuous active duty but not more than 14 years of total active duty.) Allows such bonus to be paid during war and national emergencies to address unit specific retention problems without regard to critical skill eligibility requirements. Repeals separate reserve enlistment and reenlistment bonus authorities. Limits to $20 million the FY 2005 obligation of funding for the payment of enlistment and reenlistment bonuses as expanded under this section.
(Sec. 616) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to pay an annual bonus of up to $12,000 (currently, $300 per month) to members who maintain proficiency in a foreign language the proficiency of which is necessary due to national defense or public health considerations.
(Sec. 617) Revises provisions authorizing special pay for active-duty personnel qualified in a critical military skill to: (1) allow such bonus also for members serving in an active status in a reserve component; (2) include under such authority enlisted personnel serving under an indefinite reenlistment, as long as the member executes a written agreement to remain on active duty or in active status in a reserve component for at least one year; (3) allow the Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security to designate other criteria (beside the critical military skill) under which such bonus may be paid; and (4) limit to $10 million the FY 2005 obligation of funding for the payment of such bonus as expanded under this section.
(Sec. 618) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to pay an accession bonus to reserve (currently, only regular) officers performing service in a designated critical skill. Limits to $5 million the FY 2005 obligation of funding for the payment of such bonus as expanded under this section.
(Sec. 619) Allows reserve (currently, only regular) personnel to be paid a bonus for converting to critical occupational specialties in order to ease personnel shortages. Limits to $3 million the FY 2005 obligation of funding for the payment of such bonus as expanded under this section.
(Sec. 620) Authorizes the payment of hazardous duty incentive pay for regular participation as a firefighting crew member.
Subtitle C: Travel and Transportation Allowances - (Sec. 631) Authorizes family members, including surviving parents, to travel at Government expense to the burial site of a member who dies while on active duty or inactive duty. Limits to $2 million the FY 2005 obligation of funding for the payment of such expenses as expanded under this section.
(Sec. 632) Removes the current two-person family member limit for the transportation at Government expense of family members incident to the serious illness or injury of members of the Armed Forces. Includes among authorized family members other persons approved by the Secretary concerned. Allows the Secretary concerned to provide either the transportation or a per diem allowance to cover such expenses. Limits to $3 million the FY 2005 obligation of funding for the payment of such expenses as expanded under this section.
(Sec. 633) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to reimburse a member for lodging costs incurred by a dependent child traveling between the child's school and the member's overseas duty station when such costs are incurred for reasons beyond the control of the dependent child.
Subtitle D: Retired Pay and Survivor Benefits - (Sec. 641) Increases the annuities paid under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) to survivors of military retirees who are age 62 or older from the current 35 percent of the military retired pay of the member to: (1) 40 percent, for months after September 2005 and before April 2006; (2) 45 percent, for months after March 2006 and before April 2007; (3) 50 percent, for months after March 2007 and before April 2008; and (4) 55 percent, for months after March 2008. Makes corresponding adjustments under the SBP supplemental annuity program. Requires the recalculation of SBP annuities at the same time that the SBP percentages are increased.
(Sec. 642) Authorizes an open enrollment period, for the two-year period beginning on October 1, 2005, for retired members to participate in the SBP and the supplemental SBP, or to increase their level of participation if not previously participating at the maximum authorized level. Authorizes the Secretary to require an additional premium for increased participation. Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense committees on the additional SBP open season.
(Sec. 643) Requires the Secretary to calculate the required necessary payments into the Department of Defense Military Retirement Fund in support of the additional authorized open enrollment period, above.
Subtitle E: Commissary and Nonappropriated Fund Instrumentality Benefits - (Sec. 651) Consolidates and reorganizes certain legislative provisions regarding commissary stores and other military morale, welfare, and recreation activities. Directs the Secretary to operate a worldwide system of commissary stores. (Currently, the Defense Commissary Agency (DCA) is authorized to contract out for such services, and private persons are authorized to operate such stores.) Mandates that: (1) the needs of members on active duty and their dependents be the primary consideration for establishing a store and its location; and (2) the effect on the quality of life of members and their dependents and on the welfare and security of the appropriate military community be the primary consideration for the closure of such a store. Requires congressional notification, at least 90 days in advance, in the case of the closure of a store. Includes additional items, such as telephone and greeting cards and disposable cameras and film, among those authorized to be sold at commissary stores as space permits. Prohibits such stores from offering film development services. States that, until December 31, 2009, the DCA is not required to conduct any cost-comparison study relating to the possible contracting-out of commissary store functions. Requires the: (1) chairman of the governing board of the DCA to be a commissioned officer or member of the Senior Executive Service with experience or knowledge relevant to management of the defense commissary system; and (2) the Secretary, in selecting board members, to give priority to those with experience related to logistics, military personnel, military entitlements or other experiences of value in the management of commissaries. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) assign an officer on the active-duty list as Director of the DCA; and (2) donate unusable commissary store food to charitable and veterans' organizations.
(Sec. 652) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 1995 to identify the Department of Defense Nonappropriated Fund Uniform Health Benefits Program as a Federal health benefits program not subject to any State tax, fee, or payment, or State health plan requirement.
(Sec. 653) Requires that professional staff supporting the participation by military and civilian DOD dependents in qualified scouting organizations (the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America) in overseas areas be made nonappropriated fund employees of the United States, but allows appropriated funds to be used to pay the salaries of such employees.
Subtitle F: Other Matters - (Sec. 661) Repeals the requirement that officers and certain enlisted personnel pay subsistence charges while hospitalized in a military medical facility.
(Sec. 662) Qualifies college loans involving either a basic professional qualifying degree or graduate education in a profession for repayment under the DOD education loan repayment program.
(Sec. 663) Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a survey of reserve personnel who serve, or have served, on active duty in support of a contingency operation during the period beginning September 11, 2001, and ending on September 30, 2005, to determine if such personnel experienced a reduction in monthly income during such period compared to the average monthly civilian income of such members during the 12 months preceding their mobilization; and (2) report survey results, together with appropriate recommendations, to Congress and the CG. Requires the CG to submit to Congress an assessment of the survey's findings and the Secretary's recommendations.
Title VII: Health Care Provisions - Subtitle A: Enhanced Benefits for Reserves - (Sec. 701) Directs the Secretary, beginning in FY 2005, to conduct a demonstration project to test whether TRICARE (a DOD managed health care program) coverage for certain Ready Reserve members and their families enhances medical readiness and retention of such members. Prohibits project participation by a member if their income in the prior calendar year exceeded $40,000. Terminates the project after December 31, 2007. Requires a report from the Secretary to Congress on project results. Requires the CG to evaluate the project's results and report evaluation results to the defense committees.
(Sec. 702) Requires the CG to: (1) conduct a study on the feasibility of providing a stipend to members of the Ready Reserve to offset the cost of continuing private health insurance coverage for the member's dependents while the member is on active duty for a period of more than 30 days, with the dependents being ineligible to enroll in the TRICARE program during the duty period and the stipend ending when the member completes such active duty; and (2) report study results to the defense committees.
(Sec. 703) Makes permanent (currently ends December 31, 2004) the authority for TRICARE coverage for members of the reserve called or ordered to active duty, and their dependents. Allows such coverage for up to 90 days before the active-duty period begins. Authorizes the Secretary to provide a reserve member who is issued a delayed-effective-date active-duty order, or is covered by such an order, such medical and dental care as the Secretary deems appropriate.
(Sec. 704) Authorizes the Secretary to waive deductible payments required by certain TRICARE programs for dependents of certain reserve or National Guard personnel called or ordered to active duty for more than 30 days (currently, less than one year).
(Sec. 705) Authorizes the Secretary to pay additional amounts billed by health care providers in the case of services provided to a dependent of a reserve member ordered to active duty for more than 30 days in support of a contingency operation.
(Sec. 706) Makes permanent (currently expires December 31, 2004) the authority of the Secretary to provide transitional health care benefits to members and their dependents for up to 180 days following the member's separation from active duty. Requires such benefits to cease before such period if the beneficiaries acquire employer-sponsored health coverage. Limits to $170 million the DOD O&M funds that may be used to provide such transitional benefits during the period from January 1 through September 30, 2005.
Subtitle B: Other Benefits Improvements - (Sec. 711) Allows dependents of a young age at the date of death of a member who dies while serving on active duty or as a member of the Ready Reserve to enroll in the TRICARE dental program regardless of the dependent's dental plan enrollment status on the date of death of the member.
(Sec. 712) Requires the CG to: (1) evaluate the effect of the Exceptional Family Member Program on health and support services in selected civilian communities near military installations with a high concentration of Program enrollees; and (2) report evaluation results to the defense committees.
(Sec. 713) Allows the Secretary to waive certain restrictions with regard to TRICARE Prime Remote medical care coverage for active-duty family members that reside at a remote location if the Secretary determines that waiving such restrictions are warranted by exceptional circumstances.
(Sec. 714) Directs the Secretary to establish procedures for the transition to and implementation of the home health care benefit under DOD's sub-acute care program.
(Sec. 715) Prohibits the prescription drug cost-sharing requirements for Medicare-eligible military beneficiaries from exceeding such requirements applicable to non-Medicare-eligible beneficiaries.
(Sec. 716) Allows dependents under age 13 who are participating in a military dental plan to be treated by postgraduate dental students in eligible dental treatment facilities, under specified conditions, including treatment compliance with American Dental Association standards. Prohibits the total number of such patients treated from exceeding 2,000 in a fiscal year.
(Sec. 717) Permits certain unremarried former spouses of members or former members to participate in the TRICARE retiree dental program if such former spouses have no dental coverage under an employer-sponsored health plan.
(Sec. 718) Authorizes the Secretary to waive the collection of certain payments for health care services provided during a period of ineligibility for such services beginning July 1, 1999, and ending December 31, 2004, for beneficiaries under age 65 who are entitled to Medicare on the basis of end stage renal disease, as long as such beneficiaries were unaware of the loss of such coverage at the time the services were received. Authorizes the Secretary to continue coverage for such individuals through such period. Requires quarterly reports from the Secretary to the defense committees regarding efforts to identify persons who satisfy such criteria and actions taken with respect to individuals so identified.
Subtitle C: Planning, Programming, and Management - (Sec. 721) Directs the Secretary to: (1) examine methods for leveraging and expanding nonmilitary health care resources to provide health care to military beneficiaries; (2) conduct a pilot program during FY 2005-2007 at one or more military installations for such purpose; and (3) submit an interim and final pilot program report to the defense committees. Authorizes the use of DOD O&M funds for the program during FY 2005.
(Sec. 722) Directs the Secretary to: (1) study the feasibility and desirability of providing that a member retired for a combat-related disability shall be provided reimbursement for expenses incurred by the member, during the two-year period following such retirement, for travel to a military treatment facility for medical care; and (2) report study results to the defense and appropriations committees.
(Sec. 723) Requires the Secretary to study, and report to Congress on, mental health services available to members of the Armed Forces, including: (1) the availability and effectiveness of existing mental health treatment and screening resources; and (2) obstacles preventing members and their families from obtaining needed services.
Title VIII: Acquisition Policy, Acquisition Management, and Related Matters - Subtitle A: Amendments to General Contracting Authorities, Procedures, and Limitations - (Sec. 801) Authorizes the Secretary to rapidly acquire equipment needed by a combatant commander to eliminate a combat capability deficiency that has resulted in combat fatalities. Directs the Secretary to develop and submit to Congress a process for such rapid acquisition. Prohibits such acquisition in an amount more than $100 million in a fiscal year. Requires the Secretary to notify the defense and appropriations committees within 15 days after each use of such authority.
(Sec. 802) Removes the requirement that only employees within GS-13 or above may be selected to a position in the Acquisition Corps of a military department. Includes for the Secretary, in designating critical acquisition positions in DOD, the same personnel positions that the Secretaries of other Federal departments and agencies are required to designate as critical acquisition positions. Requires the Secretary, with respect to any scholarship program conducted in connection with the employment of a person in a critical position, to enter into an agreement that identifies obligations and consequences for breach of contract.
(Sec. 803) Authorizes the head of an agency entering into a task or delivery order contract for DOD to provide for the contract to cover any base period of up to five years, with authority to extend such contract for one or more successive periods as appropriate.
(Sec. 804) Directs the head of the agency concerned, with respect to proposed multiyear defense procurement or services contracts, to provide written notification to the defense and appropriations committees if the budget for the contract does not include proposed funding up to the contract cancellation ceiling.
(Sec. 805) Increases from $500,000 to $1 million the threshold for requiring defense contractors to provide specified employee information to certain cooperative agreement organizations.
(Sec. 806) Amends the Clinger-Cohen Act to extend until October 1, 2009, the authority for the use of simplified acquisition procedures in the purchase of commercial items valued at $5 million or less.
(Sec. 807) Authorizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation Council and the heads of executive agencies to adjust for inflation the dollar thresholds under Federal procurement law in order to maintain the constant dollar value of the threshold. Outlines additional requirements, limitations, and exclusions with respect to such adjustments.
Subtitle B: United States Defense Industrial Base Provisions - (Sec. 811) Directs the Secretary to ensure that DOD policies and practices reflect the goal of establishing an equitable trading relationship between the United States and its foreign defense trade partners, including ensuring that U.S. firms and U.S. employment in the defense sector are not disadvantaged by unilateral procurement practices by foreign governments, such as the imposition by such governments of offset agreements or similar requirements in defense procurements. Requires a country participating in a DOD procurement contract to agree to apply offset agreements to the procurement of defense articles and services from U.S. firms in the same manner and to the same degree as such agreements are applied by DOD to the procurement of defense articles and services from that country. Allows an exception to such equal offset requirement for national security purposes, requiring the defense and appropriations committees to be notified 30 days in advance.
(Sec. 812) Requires the Secretary to notify Congress and the public (through a specified Government website) 15 days prior to the exercise of a waiver of DOD domestic source requirements (requirements that certain items procured by DOD be grown, processed, reprocessed, reused, or produced in the United States). Further defines certain clothing material and components listed under such requirements.
(Sec. 813) Directs the Secretary to delay by three years the phase-out of the restriction on acquisition of polyacrylonitrile carbon fiber from foreign sources.
(Sec. 814) Authorizes the Secretary to make grants during FY 2005 to qualified defense contractor groups for cost-cutting measures, retraining programs, technology development, and plant upgrades. Limits to: (1) 50 percent the Federal share of the costs of the strategy carried out under such a grant; and (2) $50 million the authorized funds for such purpose. Authorizes appropriations to the Defense Industrial Base Capabilities Fund for such purpose.
(Sec. 815) Requires the Secretary to grant preferences to freight forwarder companies owned and controlled by U.S. citizens that offer fair and reasonable rates in the award of transportation service contracts to, from, or within Iraq or Afghanistan.
Subtitle C: Other Acquisition Matters - (Sec. 821) Directs the Secretary to require that, whenever a new major defense acquisition program (MDAP) begins development, the defense acquisition authority responsible for that program shall develop a plan, to be known as the sustainment and modernization plan, for the system that the system under development is intended to replace. Mandates that plan requirements do not apply to an MDAP that reaches initial operational capability before October 1, 2008. Outlines plan requirements, including a milestone schedule for the replacement system and certain analyses of the existing system. Requires an annual review with respect to the performance of each replacement MDAP. Provides MDAP exceptions to such plan and review requirements. Allows the Secretary to waive any of the above requirements in order to meet national security objectives.
(Sec. 822) Directs the Secretary to: (1) review DOD policies, procedures, practices, and penalties relating to employees of defense contractors for purposes of ensuring DOD compliance with a specified executive order which prohibits entering into contracts with contractors not in compliance with the Immigration and Nationality Act; (2) conduct a demonstration project for promoting greater contracting opportunities for contractors who are in compliance with such Act; and (3) report to the defense committees a review of the demonstration project, together with appropriate recommendations on ensuring compliance with such executive order.
(Sec. 823) Prohibits, effective October 1, 2005, the number of DOD defense acquisition and support personnel from exceeding 95 percent of the number of such personnel as of October 1, 2004. Requires the CG to: (1) study DOD management of such personnel; and (2) report study results to the defense committees. Directs the Defense Acquisition University to: (1) study all the training programs offered to such personnel; and (2) report study results to the defense committees.
(Sec. 824) Directs the Secretary, upon request of the chairman or ranking member of either defense committee, to provide within 14 days after such request, with respect to any contract or task or delivery order contract entered into by DOD, unredacted copies of any documents required to be maintained in the contracting office contract file, the contract administration office contract file, and the paying office contract file pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulation.
(Sec. 825) Requires sureties to be treated in the same manner as financing institutions for purposes of contractor default under Federal acquisition contracts.
(Sec. 826) Authorizes the head of a defense agency, when using competitive procedures for the procurement of property or services, to exclude a particular source if such official determines that to do so would create jobs in the United States. Requires U.S. job creation to be a factor in the evaluation of contract proposals.
Title IX: Department of Defense Organization and Management - (Sec. 901) Redesignates the position of Secretary of the Navy as Secretary of the Navy and Marine Corps.
(Sec. 902) Transfers the Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs from DOD's National Defense University to the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
(Sec. 903) Amends the Thurmond Act to transfer as of January 1, 2005, oversight of the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (ACWA) program (formerly the Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment program) from the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics to the Secretary of the Army. Provides for ACWA management under the Army's chemical weapons demilitarization program. Directs the Secretary of the Army to fully implement the alternative technologies previously selected for the destruction of lethal chemical munitions at Pueblo Chemical Depot, Colorado, and Blue Grass Army Depot, Kentucky.
(Sec. 904) Amends the David L. Boren National Security Education Act of 1991 to require scholarship recipients, within three years after completing required studies (two years for fellowship students), to work for at least one year in a national security position certified by the Secretary as appropriate for using the unique language and regional expertise acquired by the student during such studies.
(Sec. 905) Includes the: (1) Commandant of the Coast Guard within the membership of the Armed Forces Policy Council; and (2) Under Secretary of Defense for Policy within the membership of the Nuclear Weapons Council.
(Sec. 906) Directs the Secretary to: (1) prescribe policies regarding procedures for the Armed Forces and other elements of DOD, as well as DOD contractor personnel, intended to prevent the conditions leading to acts of abuse of detainees who are held by the United States as part of the Global War on Terrorism; and (2) submit to the defense committees a copy of the policies prescribed and a report on the implementation of those policies.
(Sec. 907) Requires the Secretary, or any other DOD official requested by the chairman of a defense committee to respond to a question or inquiry of a chairman or a committee member pursuant to a committee hearing or other activity, to so respond within 21 days of such request.
(Sec. 908) Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) criteria for determining the types of critical information required to be made known expeditiously to senior decision-makers in DOD; and (2) a policy for the transmission from any element of DOD as expeditiously as possible to the Secretary and the JCS of any report, assessment or evaluation that results in the identification of any such information.
Title X: General Provisions - Subtitle A: Financial Matters - (Sec. 1001) Authorizes the Secretary, in the national interest, to transfer up to $3 billion of the amounts made available to DOD in this Division between any such authorizations for that fiscal year, with limitations. Requires congressional notification of each transfer.
(Sec. 1002) Requires that, in any case in which the amount requested in the President's budget for a fiscal year for a DOD O&M program, project, or activity is different from the amount appropriated for that program, project, or activity, the O&M justification documents supporting that budget shall identify the appropriated amount and the difference between that amount and the amount requested. Requires separate O&M budget justification with respect to: (1) personal service contracts, and personal service contractors paid in excess of the salary of the Vice President; (2) Navy subactivities for ship depot maintenance and for intermediate ship maintenance; and (3) average civilian salary costs. Directs the Secretary to report to the defense and appropriations committees setting forth component elements of "Other Costs" and "Other Contracts" as set forth in the FY 2006 budget justification documents.
(Sec. 1003) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to license trademarks, service marks, certification marks, and collective marks owned by a military department and to retain and expend fees received from such licensing. Requires excess licensing funds to be used for: (1) military personnel recruiting and retention activities; and (2) departmental morale, welfare, and recreation activities.
(Sec. 1004) Authorizes the Secretary to waive indebtedness owed to DOD when the costs of collection of the indebtedness are expected to exceed the amount recoverable. Makes the micro-purchase threshold, or $2,500, the maximum amount that may be so waived.
(Sec. 1005) Repeals Federal law providing near-, mid-, and far-term funding restrictions with respect to the development of medical countermeasures against biological warfare threats.
(Sec. 1006) Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense committees on the foreign currency exchange rate projection used in annual DOD budget presentations. Requires the CG to review such report and submit review results to the defense committees.
(Sec. 1007) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004 to increase from $2.5 billion to $3 billion the amount that the Secretary, in the national interest, may transfer between any DOD authorizations for that fiscal year.
(Sec. 1008) Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense and appropriations committees on amounts remitted and reimbursed to the State Department during FY 2004 for the maintenance, upgrade, or construction of U.S. diplomatic facilities.
Subtitle B: Naval Vessels and Shipyards - (Sec. 1011) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to award contracts for the dismantling of vessels stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on a net-cost basis. Allows contractors to retain proceeds from the sale of scrap and reusable equipment from such vessels.
(Sec. 1012) Directs the Secretary to provide for an independent study of the cost effectiveness of the Navy ship construction program. Requires the study to address near-term improvements in construction efficiency, as well as the global competitiveness of the U.S. shipbuilding industry. Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense and appropriations committees on study results.
(Sec. 1013) Authorizes the President to transfer: (1) on a grant basis the destroyer O'BANNON to the Government of Chile and the guided missile frigate GEORGE PHILIP to the Government of Portugal; and (2) on a sale basis the dock landing ship ANCHORAGE to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States. Prohibits the vessels transferred on a grant basis from counting against the aggregate value limit of excess defense articles transferred in a fiscal year under provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Requires: (1) all costs of transfers made on a grant basis to be borne by the recipients; and (2) any pre-transfer vessel repair or refurbishment to be performed at a U.S. shipyard, including a Navy shipyard. Terminates the vessel transfer authority two years after enactment of this Act.
(Sec. 1014) Prohibits the Secretary concerned from making a contract for a lease or charter of a vessel for a term of more than 12 months if the hull, a major component of the hull, or superstructure of the vessel is constructed in a foreign shipyard. Authorizes the President, after 30 days' prior notice to Congress, to waive such prohibition in the national security interest.
Subtitle C: Sunken Military Aircraft - (Sec. 1021) Mandates that any right, title, and interest of the United States in and to any U.S. sunken military craft shall not be extinguished by the passage of time, regardless of when the craft sank.
(Sec. 1022) Prohibits any person from engaging, or attempting to engage, in any activity directed at a sunken military craft that disturbs, removes, or injures [sic] any such craft, except as authorized by a permit under this subtitle, regulations issued under this subtitle, or otherwise by law. Provides limitations and exceptions.
(Sec. 1023) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to issue permits with respect to such activity for archaeological, historical, or educational purposes.
(Sec. 1024) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to assess a civil penalty of up to $100,000 for each violation of this subtitle.
(Sec. 1025) Provides liability for damages caused in violation of this subtitle.
(Sec. 1027) Encourages the Secretary of State to negotiate and conclude bilateral and multilateral agreements with foreign countries with regard to sunken military aircraft consistent with this subtitle.
Subtitle D: Counter-Drug Activities - (Sec. 1031) Authorizes the Secretary, during FY 2005 and 2006, to use funds made available to DOD for drug interdiction and counter-drug activities to provide assistance to the Government of Colombia to: (1) support a unified campaign against narcotics trafficking; (2) support a unified campaign against activities by designated terrorist organizations; and (3) take actions to protect human health and welfare in emergency circumstances, including undertaking rescue operations.
(Sec. 1032) Prohibits DOD funds from being used to support or maintain more than 500 members of the Armed Forces on duty at any one time in the Republic of Colombia. Provides exclusions.
Subtitle E: Reports - (Sec. 1041) Directs the Secretary to: (1) study whether the practice of using two alternating crews for the manning of ballistic missile submarines continues to be justified under changed circumstances since the end of the Cold War; (2) determine whether such practice should be continued, modified, or terminated; and (3) report such determination to the defense committees.
(Sec. 1042) Directs the Secretary to report to the defense and appropriations committees describing the effect on both military readiness and the defense industrial base that would result from elimination of the U.S. domestic firearms manufacturing base.
(Sec. 1043) Directs the Secretary to: (1) study the extent to which members of the Armed Forces assigned to duty in support of contingency operations receive training in preparation for post-conflict operations and to evaluate the quality of such training; and (2) report study results to the defense committees.
Subtitle F: Security Matters - (Sec. 1051) Authorizes individuals conducting personnel security investigations for Federal employment and access to national security information purposes to request the chief driver licensing official of a State to obtain the use of the National Driver Register for an individual's driver information.
(Sec. 1052) Authorizes (current law prohibits) decisions on the granting of meritorious security-clearance waivers for certain otherwise-prohibited individuals to be delegated by the Secretary or the Secretary concerned. Allows such waivers to be granted only under authority of an executive order or other guidance issued by the President.
Subtitle G: Transportation-Related Matters - (Sec. 1061) Authorizes the Secretary, under specified circumstances, to use military aircraft to transport mail and parcels to, from, and between overseas locations.
(Sec. 1062) Reorganizes certain Federal Armed Forces provisions relating to the control and supervision of transportation within DOD. Empowers the Secretary (currently, the appropriate department Secretary) with authority over all such transportation. Repeals contrary Federal laws.
(Sec. 1063) Amends the Emergency Wartime Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2003 to make the Secretary of Transportation responsible for certifying whether an air carrier is effectively controlled by U.S. citizens, for purposes of eligibility for Government contracts for the transportation of passengers or supplies.
(Sec. 1064) Directs the Secretary to evaluate whether, and under what circumstances, in the award of service contracts for domestic freight transportation for security-sensitive cargo, the Secretary should not consider an offer or tender from more than one motor carrier that is part of a group of motor carriers under common financial or administrative control. Requires a report to the defense committees on evaluation results.
(Sec. 1065) Prohibits the Secretary from implementing the new program for the transportation of household goods of military personnel and their dependents beyond program phase I (testing of electronic bill processing) until the Secretary reports to Congress whether phase I met its objectives and whether it is in the best interests of DOD and members of the Armed Forces to move forward to program Phase II.
Subtitle H: Other Matters - (Sec. 1071) Extends through 2006 the authority of the Secretary to engage in commercial activities as security (cover) for intelligence collection activities abroad.
(Sec. 1072) Directs the Secretary to provide assistance to a community to study the feasibility of establishing and operating a biennial international air trade show in the area of that community. Requires the Secretary, in selecting a community, to: (1) use competitive procedures; and (2) give a preference to those communities that already sponsor an air show, have demonstrated a history of supporting air shows with local resources, and have a significant role in the aerospace community.
(Sec. 1074) Establishes the Commission on the Long-Term Implementation of the New Strategic Posture of the United States to: (1) examine long-term programmatic requirements to achieve the goals set forth in a specified report of the Secretary providing the results of the Nuclear Posture Review conducted under the Spence Act, and results of periodic assessments of such Review; and (2) report to the Secretary and the defense committees on its findings and conclusions. Terminates the Commission 60 days after its report.
(Sec. 1075) Extends to volunteers working in the maritime training environment the same status and legal liability protection currently authorized for DOD volunteers working in the land-based training environment.
(Sec. 1076) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to convey to a named individual all U.S. rights and interest to a F3A-1 Brewster Corsair aircraft.
(Sec. 1077) Authorizes the Secretary, upon appropriate request, to assign members of the Armed Forces to assist: (1) the Bureau of Border Security of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in preventing the entry into the United States of terrorists, drug traffickers, and illegal aliens; and (2) the U.S. Customs Service of the DHS in the inspection of cargo, vehicles, and aircraft in order to prevent the entry into the United States of weapons of mass destruction and their components, prohibited narcotics or drugs, or other terrorist or drug trafficking items. Requires: (1) the establishment of an appropriate training program for the individuals so assigned; and (2) a civilian law enforcement officer to accompany each member so assigned. Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish ongoing joint task forces to respond to a threat to national security posed by the entry into the United States of terrorists, drug traffickers, and illegal aliens. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to notify the governor and local governments of each State in which members of the Armed Forces are so assigned.
(Sec. 1078) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to accept voluntary services to support programs of a committee of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve.
(Sec. 1079) Authorizes the Secretary to transfer to the U.S. Forest Service (currently, to a firefighting agency in a State) excess DOD personal property suitable for firefighting purposes. Directs the Secretary to enter into an agreement with the Secretary of Agriculture to use the existing property disposal program of the Forest Service to facilitate the reutilization of DOD personal property for firefighting purposes.
(Sec. 1080) Authorizes the Secretary to expand the DOD excess personal property disposal program to include transfers of such property to State health agencies for use in responding to health or environmental emergencies.
(Sec. 1081) Directs the Secretary of the Army to place in Arlington National Cemetery a memorial marker honoring the service and sacrifice of noncitizens killed in the line of duty while serving in the Armed Forces.
Title XI: Department of Defense Civilian Personnel - (Sec. 1101) Provides for the continuation of Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) coverage for up to 24 months for a Federal employee who is: (1) currently enrolled in the FEHBP; and (2) as a member of the reserves, is called or ordered to active duty in support of a contingency operation and serves on such duty for more than 30 consecutive days.
(Sec. 1102) Revises Federal provisions which authorize the Secretary to pay foreign language proficiency pay for a DOD employee certified as proficient in a foreign language deemed necessary for national security interests and whose duties require such proficiency to repeal the requirement that the individual perform such duties during a contingency operation.
(Sec. 1103) Directs the Secretary, with respect to personnel in the defense intelligence senior executive service, to use a performance appraisal system similar to that established and implemented for personnel of DOD's Senior Executive Service.
(Sec. 1104) Authorizes the Secretary to adjust the pay totals of senior executives employed by DOD nonappropriated fund instrumentalities to achieve pay parity with personnel of DOD's Senior Executive Service.
(Sec. 1105) Prohibits the unauthorized wearing or merchandising of civilian DOD medals or decorations. Authorizes the Attorney General to initiate a civil enforcement proceeding, with a civil penalty of up to $25,000 per violation.
Title XII: Matters Relating to Other Nations - Subtitle A: Matters Relating to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Global War on Terrorism - (Sec. 1201) Directs the Secretary to establish a process for expeditiously transferring to indigenous Iraqi entities committed to publicly documenting the nature of the Saddam Hussein regime any applicable Iraqi documents and records obtained by U.S. military forces in Iraq.
(Sec. 1202) Authorizes the Secretary to expend up to $25 million in each of FY 2005 through 2007 to provide support to foreign forces, irregular forces, groups, or individuals engaged in supporting or facilitating ongoing military operations by U.S. special operations forces to combat terrorism. Requires an annual report from the Secretary to the defense and appropriations committees on the support provided.
(Sec. 1203) Authorizes during FY 2005 the use of up to $300 million from DOD O&M funds to provide funds for the Commanders' Emergency Response Program for enabling military commanders in Iraq to respond to urgent humanitarian relief and reconstruction requirements, and for a similar program to assist the people of Afghanistan. Requires quarterly reports from the Secretary to the defense and appropriations committees on any funds so used.
(Sec. 1204) Directs the Secretary to submit to the defense committees a strategic plan for the manner in which the United States will achieve the goal of establishing viable and professional Iraqi forces able to provide long-term security of the Iraqi people. Requires quarterly reports thereafter.
(Sec. 1205) Directs the Secretary to: (1) issue guidance on the management of contractors that support deployed forces; and (2) direct the Secretaries of the military departments to develop procedures to ensure implementation of the guidance. Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense committees after the issuance of such guidance.
(Sec. 1206) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Secretary should make every protection available to Army Specialist Joseph Darby (who alerted his superiors of prisoner abuses at Abu Ghraib prison) and others who demonstrate such courage; and (2) Joseph Darby should be appropriately commended by the Secretary of the Army.
Subtitle B: Other Matters - (Sec. 1211) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to conduct a program under which members of the naval service of any of the member nations of NATO and Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Sweden may be assigned to U.S. commands to work on submarine vessel safety and rescue systems and procedures. Limits the costs payable for such personnel.
(Sec. 1212) Amends the Thurmond Act to expand the definition of a "Communist Chinese military company" for purposes of being subject, while operating in the United States, to certain presidential authorities under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
(Sec. 1213) Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on the Global Peace Operations Initiative.
(Sec. 1214) Prohibits the Secretary from procuring any goods or services from any foreign person (or successor entity, subsidiary, or affiliate thereof) that the Secretary determines has exported, transferred, or otherwise provided to governmental or non-governmental entities of the People's Republic of China any item or class of items on the U.S. Munitions List (or any item identical, substantially identical, or directly competitive to such an item). Requires such prohibition for a five-year period following such a determination. Directs the Secretary to make public a list of sanctioned persons. Provides prohibition exceptions.
(Sec. 1215) Directs the Secretary to undertake a program of senior military officer and senior official exchanges with Taiwan designed to improve Taiwan's defense against the People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China. Requires such exchange to focus on threat analysis, military doctrine, force planning, logistical support, intelligence collection and analysis, and operational tactics.
Title XIII: Cooperative Threat Reduction With States of the Former Soviet Union - (Sec. 1301) Specifies the cooperative threat reduction (CTR) programs to be funded through O&M funds provided under this Act. Makes funds appropriated for such purposes available for three years. Allocates such funds among specified CTR programs. Prohibits such funds from being used for purposes other than those specified until 30 days after the Secretary reports to Congress on the new purposes. Provides limited authority to vary allocated amounts in the national interest, after congressional notification.
(Sec. 1303) Extends through FY 2005 the authority of the President to waive certain preconditions established under the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2000 with respect to funding for construction of a chemical weapons destruction facility in Russia if the President certifies to Congress why the waiver is important to U.S. national security interests.
Title XIV: Export Controls and Counterproliferation Matters - Subtitle A: Export Control Matters - (Sec. 1401) Amends the Arms Export Control Act to define the terms license, agent, and exporting agent for purposes of such Act.
(Sec. 1402) Prohibits the President from establishing an exemption from licensing requirements of such Act with respect to the export of a defense article that is considered significant military equipment.
(Sec. 1403) Prohibits the President from entering into a cooperative project with one or more friendly foreign countries under such Act if a joint resolution prohibiting the agreement is enacted into law, unless the President certifies that an emergency exists which requires the immediate approval of the agreement in the national security interests.
(Sec. 1404) Directs the President to require a license for the export of goods or technologies included on the Military Critical Technologies List developed under the Export Administration Act of 1979.
(Sec. 1405) Provides specific limitations with respect to the export of certain dual-use (military and civilian) goods or technologies, as well as related defense articles or services, to a foreign person or country that has exported any such item to the military, intelligence, police, or internal security services of the People's Republic of China.
(Sec. 1406) Requires the President, within 180 days after enactment of this Act and every six months thereafter, to report to specified congressional committees a plan for effecting a strengthened international export control system capable of achieving U.S. national security interests.
Subtitle B: Counterproliferation Matters - (Sec. 1411) Amends the Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1996 to authorize the Secretary to carry out certain counterproliferation training programs in a country in which the Secretary determines that there exists a significant threat of the unauthorized transfer and transportation of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons or related materials.
(Sec. 1412) Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a program under which foreign military defense personnel are selected to attend DOD courses and programs in counterproliferation and nonproliferation matters in order to improve the ability of such personnel to contribute to halting the illicit acquisition or transportation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) or of materials that support the development of WMDs.
Subtitle C: Initiatives Relating to Countries of Former Soviet Union - (Sec. 1421) Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to carry out a program, to be known as the Silk Road Initiative, to promote non-weapons-related employment opportunities in the United States and in Silk Road nations (certain independent states of the former Soviet Union) for scientists, engineers, and technicians formerly engaged in activities to develop and produce WMDs in those nations.
(Sec. 1422) Authorizes the Administrator for Nuclear Security to carry out a program under which the Administrator awards, to scientists employed at the Kurchatov Institute of the Russian Federation and scientists employed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California international exchange fellowships, to be known as Teller-Kurchatov Nonproliferation Fellowships, in the nuclear nonproliferation sciences. Limits: (1) the duration of a fellowship to two years, unless an extension is warranted under extraordinary circumstances as determined by the Administrator; and (2) the number of such fellowships to one at each Institute or Laboratory during a calendar year. Provides funding from funds authorized later under this Act.
(Sec. 1423) Requires a report from the Secretary to Congress on the collaborative measures that the United States and the Russian Federation could take to reduce the risks that a nuclear ballistic missile could be launched as the result of an accident, misinformation, miscalculation, or unauthorized use.
Title XV: Authorization for Increased Costs Due to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - (Sec. 1511) Authorizes appropriations, for additional costs due to Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, for FY 2005 for: (1) the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, and Air Force for aircraft, missiles, weapons and tracked combat vehicles, ammunition, National Guard and reserve equipment, and for other procurement; (2) defense-wide procurement; (3) O&M; (4) the Defense Health Program; and (5) military personnel.
(Sec. 1519) Authorizes the Secretary, in the national interest, to transfer up to $2.5 billion of the amounts made available to DOD in this title between any such authorizations for that fiscal year, with limitations. Requires congressional notification of each transfer.
(Sec. 1520) Designates amounts authorized by this title for emergency contingency operations related to the global war on terrorism.
Subtitle B: Personnel Provisions - (Sec. 1531) Increases, for each of FY 2005 through 2007, the authorized end strengths for Army and Marine Corps active-duty forces. Requires the Secretary to notify the defense committees upon a determination that adjustments to any such end strength levels are necessary, as well as the rationale for such adjustments.
(Sec. 1533) Makes permanent (currently terminates at the end of 2004) the increase in the monthly rates of: (1) imminent danger pay from $150 to $225; and (2) the family separation allowance from $100 to $250.
Subtitle C: Financial Management Matters - (Sec. 1541) Revises the process for funding required annual payments into the Department of Defense Medicare-Eligible Retiree Health Care Fund to direct the Secretary of the Treasury, beginning in FY 2006, to make annual payments from the general fund of the Treasury. (Currently, the Secretary of Defense is required to make monthly payments into the Fund.)
Division B: Military Construction Authorizations - Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 - Title XXI [sic]: Army - (Sec. 2101) 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 such Secretary to construct or acquire family housing units, carry out architectural planning and design activities, and improve existing military family housing in specified amounts. Authorizes appropriations to the Army for fiscal years after 2004 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. 2105) Amends the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year: (1) 2004 to increase the amounts authorized for military construction projects at Fort Stewart, Georgia, and Fort Drum, New York; and (2) 2003 to increase the amount authorized for a project at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
Title XXII: Navy - (Sec. 2201) Provides, with respect to the Navy, authorizations paralleling those provided for the Army under the previous title.
Title XXIII: Air Force - (Sec. 2301) Provides, with respect to the Air Force, authorizations paralleling those provided for the Army under title XXI.
Title XXIV: Defense Agencies - (Sec. 2401) 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 improve existing military family housing units and carry out certain energy conservation projects. Authorizes appropriations to DOD for fiscal years after 2004 for military construction, land acquisition, and military family housing functions of DOD. Limits the total cost of construction projects authorized by this title.
Title XXV: North Atlantic Treaty Organization Security Investment Program - (Sec. 2501) Authorizes the Secretary to make contributions for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Security Investment Program and authorizes appropriations for fiscal years after 2004 for such Program.
Title XXVI: Guard and Reserve Forces Facilities - (Sec. 2601) Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years after 2004 for National Guard and reserve forces for acquisition, architectural and engineering services, and construction of facilities.
Title XXVII: Expiration and Extension of Authorizations - (Sec. 2701) Terminates all authorizations contained in titles XXI through XXVI of this Act on October 1, 2007, or the date of enactment of an Act authorizing funds for military construction for FY 2008, whichever is later, with exceptions. Extends certain prior-year military construction projects.
Title XXVIII: General Provisions - Subtitle A: Military Construction Program and Military Family Housing Changes - (Sec. 2801) Increases from $750,000 to $1 million the minor construction project threshold at which the Secretary concerned must approve, and notify Congress at least 21 days in advance of, the use of department O&M funds for such project.
(Sec. 2802) Directs the Secretary to develop common guidance and criteria to be used by the Secretary concerned to: (1) assess the vulnerability of U.S. military installations to terrorist attack; (2) develop construction standards designed to reduce such vulnerability; (3) prepare and carry out military construction projects, such as gate and fenceline construction, to improve the physical security of such installations; and (4) assist in prioritizing such projects within the military construction budget of that department. Requires: (1) vulnerability assessments to be conducted at regular intervals; and (2) the Secretary to include certain information with respect to such assessments within annual DOD budget justification materials submitted to Congress.
(Sec. 2803) Decreases from $10 million to $7.5 million the threshold at which congressional notification is required for the use of O&M funds for military facility repairs.
(Sec. 2804) Directs the Secretary, within annual DOD budget justification materials submitted to Congress, to include information regarding military family housing requirements in the National Capital Region for general and flag officers. Requires a related report containing a worldwide inventory of housing units for such officers and identifying annual expenditures for each unit for O&M, utilities, and repairs for each of FY 2000 through 2004.
(Sec. 2805) Decreases from 21 to 14 days, if provided in an electronic format, the required prior congressional notification of deviations from authorized cost variations for military construction and family housing projects.
(Sec. 2806) Repeals on October 1, 2005, the $850 million annual limitation on the use of alternative DOD budget authority for the acquisition or construction of military family housing.
(Sec. 2807) Authorizes the Secretary, with respect to the defense agencies, and the Secretary concerned with respect to the military departments, through FY 2008, to accelerate design efforts for military construction projects using design-build (two-phase) selection procedures. Directs the Secretary to report to the defense and appropriations committees on the usefulness of such authority in expediting the design and construction of such projects.
(Sec. 2808) Authorizes the Secretary to convey an existing reserve facility by exchange (current law) or sale for the purpose of acquiring a replacement facility.
(Sec. 2809) Amends the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 to extend through FY 2005 the limited authority to use O&M funds for military construction projects outside the United States.
(Sec. 2810) Requires the Secretary to include in annual DOD budget justification materials a certification that, in evaluating for inclusion in that budget the construction of any U.S. military medical treatment facility, the Secretary evaluated the feasibility of carrying out the project so as to establish a joint medical facility with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to undertake the same certification with respect to any new Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility construction.
Subtitle B: Real Property and Facilities Administration - (Sec. 2811) Increases from $750,000 to $1.5 million the threshold at which the Secretary concerned must report to the defense committees certain real property transactions undertaken by that department.
(Sec. 2812) Consolidates and reorganizes existing provisions relating to DOD real property transactions.
(Sec. 2813) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to use up to 50 percent of the rentals received for the use of the golf course at Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, after FY 2004 for quality-of-life programs at that installation.
(Sec. 2814) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2002 to increase from 12 to 36 the number of authorized contracts per military department under a DOD demonstration program for the reduction in long-term facility maintenance costs.
(Sec. 2815) Repeals provisions of the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 2004 which establish the Commission on the Review of Overseas Military Facility Structure of the United States.
(Sec. 2816) Designates the Airmen Leadership School at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, as the John J. Rhodes Airmen Leadership School.
(Sec. 2817) Provides that if real property owned by the United States and used as a Navy homeport is subject to a reversionary interest of any kind, the Secretary of the Navy may enter into an agreement with the holder to acquire the reversionary interest with in-kind consideration, and thereby clear U.S. title to the property. Prohibits cash payments for the acquisition of such reversionary interests.
(Sec. 2818) Directs the Secretary of the Navy to report to Congress on the possible establishment and maintenance of a veterans' memorial on the site of the former Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, California.
Subtitle C: Base Closure and Realignment - (Sec. 2821) Amends (throughout this subtitle) the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 to postpone until specified dates in 2007 (currently 2005) the dates for: (1) submission to Congress of base closure and realignment recommendations by the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission and the Secretary; and (2) presidential review of such recommendations and transmission to Congress of review results. Directs the Secretary, in the interim, to prepare and submit to the defense and appropriations committees specified reports related to infrastructure requirements for the Armed Forces.
(Sec. 2822) Establishes March 15 of the base closure round year as the final deadline for revision of the force structure plan or infrastructure inventory.
(Sec. 2823) Outlines the final selection criteria to be used by the Secretary in making recommendations for the closure or realignment of military installations inside the United States during the next base closure round, including: (1) current and future mission requirements and the impact on operational readiness of the total force of DOD; (2) the availability and condition of land, infrastructure, and associated air and water space at both existing and potential receiving locations; (3) the ability to accommodate contingency, mobilization, and future total force requirements at both existing and potential receiving locations; and (4) preservation of land, air, and water space, facilities, and infrastructure necessary to support training and operations of military forces determined by the Secretary to be surge (manpower) requirements. Requires the Secretary, in making recommendations for base closures or realignments, to give priority to the above criteria. Allows only such final selection criteria to be used in making recommendations for closures or realignments after December 31, 2003.
(Sec. 2824) Requires a unanimous vote by the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission in order to recommend the closure or realignment of an installation not recommended by the Secretary for closure or realignment.
(Sec. 2825) Requires any base closure or realignment action to strictly adhere to Federal provisions for the maintenance of Government-owned and operated depot-level maintenance, repair, and logistics capabilities within DOD.
Subtitle D: Land Conveyances - Part I: Army Conveyances - (Sec. 2831) Directs the Secretary of the Army to transfer to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs a portion of the Defense Supply Center, Columbus, Ohio, for use as a veterans' outpatient clinic.
(Sec. 2832) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to convey to: (1) the Texas A&M University System of the State of Texas a portion of Fort Hood, Texas, for an upper level, State-supported university; and (2) the State of Washington a portion of the National Guard facility in Seattle, Washington, for economic development.
(Sec. 2834) Amends the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 to: (1) authorize the Secretary of the Army to transfer to the Secretary of the Interior, in trust for the Nisqually Tribe (currently authorizes such transfer directly to such Tribe), a specified portion of Fort Lewis, Washington; (2) increase the amount of land to be transferred; and (3) specifically preserve, after such transfer, all existing permit rights and easements held by the Bonneville Power Administration with respect to such area.
Part II: Navy Conveyances - (Sec. 2841) Directs the Secretary of the Navy, no later than January 1, 2005, to transfer to the Administrator of General Services the Nebraska Avenue Navy Complex in the District of Columbia to accommodate the Department of Homeland Security. Provides: (1) for the payment of relocation costs; and (2) authority for the relocation of naval activities currently carried out at the Complex.
(Sec. 2842) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to convey to: (1) the State of Illinois, a political subdivision of the State, or a nonprofit land conservation organization certain environmentally sensitive land at the former Fort Sheridan, Illinois, for the purpose of ensuring the permanent protection of such land; and (2) the State of Maryland a portion of the Naval Air Station, Patuxent River, Maryland, in exchange for a parcel of real property in Point Lookout State Park, Maryland.
Part III: Air Force Conveyances - (Sec. 2851) Authorizes the Secretary of the Air Force to convey to the city of Montgomery, Alabama, the Maxwell Heights Housing site at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, in exchange for real property contiguous to such Base.
Division C: Department of Energy National Security Authorizations and Other Authorizations - Title XXXI [sic]: Department of Energy National Security Programs - Subtitle A: National Security Programs Authorizations - (Sec. 3101) Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Energy (DOE) for FY 2005 for: (1) activities of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in carrying out programs necessary for national security, with specified allocations for weapons activities, defense nuclear nonproliferation activities, naval reactors, and the Office of the Administrator for Nuclear Security (Administrator); and (2) environmental restoration and waste management activities in carrying out national security programs, with specified allocations for defense environmental management, other defense activities, and defense nuclear waste disposal.
Subtitle B: Program Authorizations, Restrictions, and Limitations - (Sec. 3111) Amends the Atomic Energy Defense Act to extend through FY 2006 DOE authority for the appointment of certain scientific, engineering, and technical personnel.
(Sec. 3112) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004 to provide that, after December 31, 2004, a project may be added to or removed from the Facilities and Infrastructure Recapitalization Program only after the Administrator submits to the defense and appropriations committees a notice that the Administrator has identified such project for addition or removal and has approved such addition or removal as a modification to the baseline for that Program. Prohibits the Administrator from obligating funds for such addition or removal until 60 days after such notice.
Subtitle C: Other Matters - (Sec. 3131) Amends the National Nuclear Security Administration Act to give the Administrator sole authority within DOE to submit to Congress or the appropriate congressional committees a notice of, or request for, a transfer or reprogramming of funds of the NNSA.
(Sec. 3132) Directs the Secretary of Energy (Secretary, for purposes of this Division) to enter into an arrangement with the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences to carry out a study of DOE plans to manage the waste streams at the Savannah River, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, and Hanford Reservation nuclear sites that are not currently planned for disposal in a high-level repository. Requires the Council to submit an interim and final report to the Secretary and the defense and appropriations committees. Provides funding from funds authorized by this title.
(Sec. 3133) Directs the Secretary to enter into a contract to conduct independent reviews and evaluations of the design, construction, and operations of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico as they relate to the protection of the public health and safety and the environment.
(Sec. 3134) Increases, by a specified amount, funds available under this title for defense environmental management, to be used for defense site acceleration completion. Offsets such amount from Air Force O&M funding.
(Sec. 3135) Amends the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 to revise requirements for the appointment by the Secretary of Health and Human Services of panel members for advice and recommendations under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program.
Title XXXII: Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board - (Sec. 3201) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.
Title XXXIII: National Defense Stockpile - (Sec. 3301) Authorizes the National Defense Stockpile (NDS) Manager, during FY 2005, to obligate up to $59.7 million of the funds in the National Defense Stockpile Transaction Fund (Fund) for authorized Fund uses, including the disposal of hazardous materials that are environmentally sensitive. Authorizes the NDS Manager to obligate amounts in excess of such amount 45 days after notifying Congress that extraordinary or emergency conditions necessitate the additional obligations.
(Sec. 3302) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2002 to authorize the Secretary of Defense, during FY 2005, to dispose of up to 100,000 (currently 50,000) short tons of high carbon manganese ferro from the NDS.
(Sec. 3303) Amends the Thurmond Act to authorize the Secretary of Defense to dispose of NDS materials so as to result in $785 million in receipts by the end of FY 2005 and $870 million in receipts by the end of FY 2009.
Title XXXIV: Naval Petroleum Reserves - (Sec. 3401) Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary for FY 2005 to carry out activities relating to the naval petroleum reserves.
Title XXXV: Maritime Administration - (Sec. 3501) Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Transportation for FY 2005 for the Maritime Administration for: (1) operations and training; (2) administrative expenses under the loan guarantee program authorized under the Merchant Marine Act, 1936; and (3) ship disposal.
(Sec. 3502) Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to extend through December 31, 2010, the authority of the Secretary of Transportation to purchase war risk insurance and reinsurance for merchant marine vessels.
Title XXXVI: Small Business Administration - (Sec. 3601) Amends the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration Program Act of 1988 to include landscaping and pest control services industry groups as participants under the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration Program.
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 - Division A: Department of Defense Authorizations - Title I: Procurement - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - (Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for 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 2005 for defense-wide procurement.
Subtitle B: Program Matters - (Sec. 111) Authorizes the Secretaries of the Army and Navy, beginning with the FY 2005 program year, to jointly enter into a multiyear contract for procurement of the lightweight 155-millimeter howitzer.
(Sec. 112) Directs the Secretary of the Navy to: (1) accelerate the program for in-service modernization of the DDG-51 class of destroyers; and (2) report to the congressional defense and appropriations committees on steps taken under the program.
(Sec. 113) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2004 to repeal the authority for a pilot program for flexible funding of naval cruiser conversions and overhauls.
(Sec. 114) Directs the Secretary of Defense (Secretary) to require the Secretary of each military department (Secretary concerned) to perform an assessment of the survivability and suitability against asymmetrical threats of each manned ground system or war-fighting survivability system, and manned airborne system, that may be required to deploy in an asymmetrical threat environment. Requires assessment completion by July 1, 2005. Directs the Secretary to require the Secretary concerned to either take specified force protection or survivability steps with respect to such system or restrict the system from deployment to an asymmetrical threat environment. Authorizes the Secretary to waive such requirements with respect to a system if the Secretary determines that, but for such waiver, the Department of Defense (DOD) would be unable to meet national security objectives. Directs the Secretary to require the department Secretaries to include consideration of survivability and suitability against asymmetrical threats for each military acquisition program that has not entered low-rate initial production as of the date of enactment of this Act.
(Sec. 115) Directs the Secretary to provide that, in the allocation to operational units of equipment acquired using funds authorized to be appropriated by this title, priority be given to units that are deployed to, or preparing to deploy to, Operations Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom, regardless of the status of those units as active, Guard, or reserve components.
(Sec. 116) Authorizes the Secretary of the Air Force, beginning with the FY 2005 program year, to enter into a multiyear contract for procurement of 80 KC-767 tanker aircraft.
(Sec. 117) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) aerial refueling capacity for the Armed Forces is critical; (2) the Nation must expeditiously proceed with a program to replace the Air Force's aging fleet of aerial refueling tankers; (3) DOD, in pursuing such a program, should take full advantage of the U.S. commercial aircraft production base; and (4) anyone suspected of involvement in improper or illegal activities associated with such a program should be investigated and, if warranted, prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Directs the Secretary of the Air Force to enter into a contract for the Air Force multiyear tanker aircraft program, provided that any such contract is negotiated after June 1, 2004. Requires the: (1) Secretary to provide for an outside-DOD panel to review any proposed contract; and (2) panel to report review results to the Secretary and the defense and appropriations committees.
Title II: Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - (Sec. 201) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for the Armed Forces for research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E). Earmarks specified amounts for the Defense Science and Technology Program.
Subtitle B: Program Requirements, Restrictions, and Limitations - (Sec. 211) Directs the Secretary of the Army to establish and implement a program strategy for the Army's Future Combat Systems acquisition program. Outlines program strategy elements. Requires the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, before convening the Milestone B update for such program, to submit to Congress an independent program cost estimate, together with related reports concerning such program. Limits program funding until the Secretary of the Army certifies to Congress that such program strategy has been established and implemented.
(Sec. 212) Directs the Secretary to establish a program for research and development in advanced vacuum electronics to meet the requirements of DOD electromagnetic systems. Requires a report from the Director of Defense Research and Engineering to the defense and appropriations committees on program implementation. Provides funding from RDT&E funds authorized under this title.
(Sec. 213) Directs the Comptroller General (CG) to: (1) conduct an annual review of the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft program; (2) report annually to Congress on the most recent review; and (3) with each such report, certify whether the CG has had access to sufficient information to make informed judgments on matters covered by the report. Terminates report requirements after March 15, 2009.
(Sec. 214) Requires that amounts for RDT&E for the U.S. Joint Forces Command be derived only from amounts made available to DOD for defense-wide RDT&E. Requires any such amount to be set forth separately in annual budget requests.
(Sec. 216) Prohibits the Secretary, in carrying out the space-based radar program, from authorizing that program to proceed into the system development and procurement phase known as Milestone B until: (1) the Secretary has reported to the defense, appropriations, and intelligence committees on such program; and (2) 30 days has elapsed since such report.
(Sec. 217) Earmarks specified RDT&E funds for the Mark-54 torpedo product improvement program.
Subtitle C: Ballistic Missile Defense - (Sec. 221) Authorizes funds appropriated for FY 2005 or 2006 for RDT&E for the Missile Defense Agency to be used for the development and fielding of ballistic missile defense capabilities.
Title III: Operation and Maintenance - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - (Sec. 301) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for operation and maintenance (O&M) for the Armed Forces and specified activities and agencies of DOD.
(Sec. 302) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for: (1) working capital funds; (2) the Defense Health Program; (3) chemical agents and munitions destruction, defense; (4) defense drug interdiction and counter-drug activities; and (5) the Defense Inspector General.
(Sec. 304) Authorizes the Secretary to reimburse a member of the Armed Forces for the cost of protective body armor purchased by the member, or by another person on behalf of the member, for member use while deployed in connection with Operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, or Iraqi Freedom if the member was not issued protective armor before engaging in any such Operation. Allows such reimbursement with respect to armor purchased during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, and ending on December 31, 2003.
Subtitle B: Environmental Provisions - (Sec. 311) Directs the Secretary of the Air Force to prepare and submit to the defense committees a report that outlines current and anticipated encroachments on the use and utility of the special use airspace of the Utah Test and Training Range, including encroachments brought about through actions of other Federal agencies.
Subtitle C: Workplace and Depot Issues - (Sec. 321) Provides simplified (covering fewer fiscal years) annual reporting requirements concerning funds expended for the performance of depot maintenance and repair workloads by the public and private sectors.
(Sec. 322) Repeals an annual reporting requirement from the Secretary to the defense committees on the number of employees performing depot-level maintenance and repair of materiel.
(Sec. 323) Prohibits a depot-level maintenance and repair function currently performed by ten or more DOD civilian employees from being converted to performance by a contractor unless the conversion is based on the results of a public-private competition process that, among other things, includes a cost comparison and a most efficient organization plan. Authorizes the Secretary to waive the competition requirement in specified instances, including compelling national security interests.
(Sec. 324) Directs the Secretary, during FY 2005 and 2006, to establish a pilot program to examine the use of the public-private competition process of Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76 on new requirements and functions currently being performed by contractors that could be performed by civilian DOD employees. Outlines program requirements and limitations. Authorizes the waiver of the pilot program for compelling national security reasons.
(Sec. 325) Expresses the sense of Congress that DOD civilian and contractor employees, and their representatives, have comparable access to relevant information and legal standing to challenge the way a public-private contract competition has been conducted.
(Sec. 326) Requires the DOD Inspector General to report to Congress whether DOD: (1) employs a sufficient number of trained civilian employees to conduct all of the public-private competitions scheduled to be undertaken by DOD; and (2) has implemented a reliable system to track and assess the cost and quality of the performance of DOD functions by service contractors.
Subtitle D: Information Technology - (Sec. 331) Directs the Secretary to prepare, and report to the defense and appropriations committees on, a plan to provide for the transition of DOD information technology systems to Internet Protocol version 6 from the present use of version 4 and other network protocols.
(Sec. 332) Outlines required conditions prior to the obligation of DOD funds for a defense business system modernization having a total cost in excess of $1 million, including that: (1) such system comply with a specified enterprise architecture; and (2) certification of such system has been approved by the Defense Business Systems Management Committee. Requires a defense business system investment review by an investment review board. Directs the Secretary to include information concerning each defense business system modernization in annual budget materials submitted to Congress. Requires compliance reports from the Secretary to the defense and appropriations committees in each of the years 2005 through 2009.
(Sec. 333) Directs the Secretary to: (1) designate a single joint program office in DOD for the management of battlefield management and control systems of the Armed Forces, known as the Family of Interoperable Pictures, to improve the interoperability of such systems so that members of the Armed Forces may access a common operational picture of the battlefield; and (2) develop, implement, and maintain a common systems architecture for all such systems.
Subtitle E: Readiness Reporting Requirements - (Sec. 341) Requires an annual report from the Secretary to Congress on DOD operations and financial support for military museums.
(Sec. 342) Directs the Secretary to assess, and report to Congress on, DOD programs for the prepositioning of material and equipment.
Subtitle F: Other Matters - (Sec. 351) Amends the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (Spence Act) to extend through FY 2008 a demonstration program to maintain the viability and unique capabilities at Army manufacturing arsenals.
(Sec. 352) Prohibits FY 2005 DOD O&M funds from being obligated for preparing or implementing the Mid-Range Financial Improvement Plan until the Secretary reports to the defense and appropriations committees: (1) an explanation of the use of such funds; and (2) an estimate of the future-years cost to prepare and implement the Plan.
(Sec. 353) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to consider bids or proposals for follow-on Navy contracts for the operation of five Champion-class T-5 tank vessels only from an entity that is a citizen as defined under the Shipping Act, 1916.
(Sec. 354) Recognizes the Liberty Memorial Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, as America's National World War I Museum.
Title IV: Military Personnel Authorizations - Subtitle A: Active Forces - (Sec. 401) Sets forth authorized end strengths for active-duty forces as of the end of FY 2005.
(Sec. 402) Revises, effective October 1, 2004, the permanent active-duty end strength minimum levels for the Navy and Air Force.
(Sec. 403) Sets forth the maximum number of reserve personnel authorized to be on active duty for operational support during FY 2005.
(Sec. 404) Requires Congress to annually authorize the maximum number of reserve personnel permitted to be on: (1) active duty or full-time National Guard duty for providing operational support or preparing for and performing military funeral honors functions; and (2) active duty (or retained on active duty) while in a captive status or for medical evaluation or treatment. Includes certain reserve personnel within annual authorized active-duty end strength limits. Authorizes the Secretary to increase such end strength limits for a fiscal year by up to ten percent. Excludes: (1) certain reserve and National Guard personnel from annual authorized active-duty end strength limits; and (2) from specified personnel limits reserve personnel engaged in military-to-military contacts and comparable activities. Provides for: (1) field grade officer strength accounting; and (2) active Guard and reserve field grade officer strength accounting. Excludes from warrant officer active-duty end strength limits reserve warrant officers: (1) on active duty for any of the first two purposes specified in this section; or (2) on full-time National Guard duty. Repeals the requirement that members of the National Guard on active duty or full-time National Guard duty for performing drug interdiction and counter-drug activities be excluded from the authorized end strengths for reserve personnel performing active duty in support of the reserve components. Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense committees on the exclusions from active-duty end strengths provided under this section.
Subtitle B: Reserve Forces - (Sec. 411) Sets forth authorized end strengths as of the end of FY 2005 for members of the Selected Reserve and reserve personnel on active duty in support of the reserves.
(Sec. 413) Sets forth the minimum end strength for FY 2005 for Army and Air Force dual status military technicians.
(Sec. 414) Places specified FY 2005 limits on the number of non-dual status technicians authorized to be employed by the Army and Air National Guard.
Subtitle C: Authorization of Appropriations - (Sec. 421) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for: (1) military personnel; and (2) the Armed Forces Retirement Home.
Title V: Military Personnel Policy - Subtitle A: General and Flag Officer Matters - (Sec. 501) Authorizes the President to extend the service of Chief of Staff of the Army or the Air Force, Chief of Naval Operations, or Commandant of the Marine Corps for an additional period (following a two-year term) of up to two years. Authorizes the President, in time of war or national emergency, to extend such service for additional periods, except that the total period of such service may not exceed eight years.
(Sec. 502) Repeals the requirement that Deputy and Assistant Chiefs of Naval Operations be selected from officers in the line of the Navy.
(Sec. 503) Increases from 64 to 66 the age limit for deferral of the mandatory retirement requirement for up to ten general and senior flag officers.
(Sec. 504) Allows commissioned officers in grades below lieutenant colonel or commander to be voluntarily retired upon serving satisfactorily in that grade for not less than six months. Requires officers in grades above major or lieutenant commander and below brigadier general or rear admiral (lower half) to serve satisfactorily in that grade for three years in order to be retired in that grade, except that such period may be reduced to not less than two years. Requires active duty of not less than one year for eligibility for voluntary retirement for officers in grades above colonel or captain. Allows officers in grades above major general or rear admiral to be voluntarily retired in the highest grade in which that officer satisfactorily served for at least one year. Authorizes the President to waive such time-in-grade requirements in individual cases involving extreme hardship or exceptional or unusual circumstances. Repeals a provision requiring certification by the Secretary of satisfactory service before a general, admiral, lieutenant general, or vice admiral may be retired in that grade. Requires officers in grades above colonel or captain, in order to be credited with satisfactory service in that grade, to have served satisfactorily in that grade as a reserve commissioned officer in an active status, or in a retired status on active duty, for not less than one year.
(Sec. 505) Repeals the requirement that no more than 50 percent of active-duty general and flag officers be in grades above brigadier general and rear admiral (lower half).
(Sec. 506) Codifies provisions of the NDAA for Fiscal Year 1998 relating to the terms for Assistants to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) for National Guard and Reserve Matters. Makes such term four (currently two) years.
(Sec. 507) Provides that, upon a vacancy in the office of the Chief of the National Guard Bureau or in the event such Chief is unable to perform such duties, the senior officer of the Army or Air National Guard on duty with the Bureau shall serve as acting Chief until a successor is appointed or the Chief is able to perform such duties.
(Sec. 508) Redesignates the Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau as the Director of the Joint Staff of the National Guard Bureau.
(Sec. 509) Extends through 2006 (currently 2004) the authority to waive the requirement that reserve chiefs and National Guard directors have significant joint duty experience. Requires a plan from the Secretary, submitted to the defense committees, to ensure that all officers selected for such positions after such date have significant joint duty experience.
(Sec. 510) Repeals the requirement of a certain distribution among line and staff corps of reserve Navy general and flag officers in active status.
Subtitle B: Other Officer Personnel Policy Matters - (Sec. 511) Repeals the requirement that active-duty officers serve in a reserve component for at least one year before receiving a regular (non-reserve) commission. Authorizes the Secretary to waive the requirement that a person receiving an original appointment as a commissioned officer be a citizen of the United States in the case of a person lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence when the Secretary determines that the national security so requires, but only for an original appointment in a grade below major or lieutenant commander. Repeals limitations on the total authorized end strength of regular commissioned officers serving on active duty. Requires the President alone (currently, with the advice and consent of the Senate) to make original appointments of regular officers in junior grades (second lieutenant, lieutenant, and captain in the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps and ensign, lieutenant (junior grade), and lieutenant in the Navy). Terminates the requirement of six years of service in a reserve component for eligibility for non-regular service retirement. Requires appointment in a regular component, and service as a second lieutenant or ensign, for students graduating from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.
(Sec. 513) Revises the required distribution in grade of Marine Corps Reserve officers in an active status in grades below brigadier general.
(Sec. 514) Includes commissioned officers serving on full-time National Guard duty among those for whom the Secretary concerned may pay tuition or other educational expenses for education or training during off-duty periods. Authorizes the Secretary concerned to reduce or waive the required two years of active-duty service following the completion of such education or training in the case of: (1) a commissioned officer who is subject to mandatory separation or who has completed the period of active-duty service in support of a contingency operation; or (2) other exigent circumstances. Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to pay such educational or training expenses for an officer in the Selected Reserve of the Army National Guard or Army Reserve.
Subtitle C: Reserve Component Matters - (Sec. 521) Removes references to planned mobilizations from the statutory purposes of the reserve components.
(Sec. 522) Allows the Secretary concerned to order a member of the reserves, without the member's consent, to active duty for training. (Currently, the Secretary concerned may order a reserve member to any active duty other than for training.)
(Sec. 523) States that, for disability retirement eligibility purposes, a reserve member ordered to active duty for a period of more than 30 days who is released prior to such 30 days for failure to meet physical standards for retention, or medical or dental standards for deployment due to a preexisting condition not aggravated during such duty period, shall be considered to have been serving under an order to active duty for a period of 30 days or less.
(Sec. 524) Removes the prohibition on the receipt of Federal civil service military leave for reserve and National Guard civilian technicians performing active duty during a war or national emergency.
(Sec. 525) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to provide an individual who has received a commission as an Army Reserve officer from a military junior college but who does not have a baccalaureate degree with financial assistance for the pursuit of such a degree. Outlines agreement and reimbursement requirements in connection with such assistance. Prohibits such an officer from being called or ordered to active duty for a deployment while participating in such program. Authorizes such Secretary to provide the same financial assistance with respect to service in troop program units. Repeals the December 31, 2006, sunset on the provision of financial assistance for advanced training for Senior ROTC students not otherwise eligible for such training who have successfully completed their first year of Senior ROTC studies. Directs the Secretary of the Army to report to the defense committees annually for six years after the enactment of this Act on the implementation of the financial assistance program.
(Sec. 526) Revises a program under which the Secretary is authorized to repay certain educational loans of enlisted members of the Selected Reserve in return for service as members with critical specialties to allow the Secretary to repay such a loan in connection with service performed by a member as an officer in the case of a borrower who, after the service commitment is entered into and while performing service as an enlisted member, accepts an appointment or commission as a Selected Reserve warrant or commissioned officer. Limits to $1 million in FY 2005 the obligation of funds for the repayment of loans for such officers.
(Sec. 527) Prohibits the Secretary from establishing in any one State more than two academies for the STARBASE Program (a science, mathematics, and technology education improvement program). Authorizes a waiver of such limitation.
(Sec. 528) Directs the CG to review, and report to the defense committees on, a plan of the Secretary of the Navy for the integration of active and reserve Navy components in peacetime and wartime operations. Prohibits any funds from being obligated or expended to decommission a Naval or Marine Corps Reserve aviation squadron until 90 days after such report is received.
(Sec. 529) Authorizes the Secretary to provide funds to a State governor to employ National Guard units and individuals to conduct operational activities in the national interest. Considers any such duty as full-time National Guard duty. Authorizes a State governor to request such assistance, requiring within such request the specific intended operational activities to be undertaken and why such activities would be in the national interest. Excludes persons performing such duty from annual National Guard full-time duty end strengths.
(Sec. 530) Reduces from 5,000 to 3,500 the minimum number of active-duty personnel to serve as advisers to various units of the Selected Reserve. Directs the Secretary of the Army to report to the defense committees on the support by active components of the Army for training and readiness of the Army National Guard and Army Reserve.
Subtitle D: Joint Officer Management - (Sec. 531) Directs the Secretary to develop a strategic plan for joint officer management and joint professional military education that links joint officer development to the accomplishment of the overall missions and goals of DOD, as set forth in the most recent national military strategy. Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense committees on: (1) the developed plan; and (2) an additional assessment of the performance in joint matters of specified senior officers and DOD employees.
(Sec. 532) Extends from September 30, 2007, to September 30, 2008, the date after which an officer must be selected for the joint officer specialty before promotion to the grade of brigadier general or rear admiral (lower half).
(Sec. 533) Allows officers to continue to accumulate joint credit when serving consecutive joint duty assignments, even if those assignments are not within the same organization.
(Sec. 534) Allows the Secretary to award the joint specialty officer designation to reserve officers (currently limited to active-duty officers) meeting prescribed requirements. Requires reserve officers to be included in DOD management policies, procedures, and practices for joint specialty officers. Excludes reserve officers who have, or have been nominated for, the joint specialty from being counted against joint officer promotion policy objectives. Directs the Secretary to include in a required annual report to Congress for FY 2005 a summary of the joint officer management policies adopted for reserve officers.
Subtitle E: Professional Military Education - (Sec. 541) Codifies under Federal Armed Forces law (with slight modifications) the Statement of Congressional Policy relating to professional military education contained in the NDAA for Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991.
Directs the Secretary of each military department to require that performance on a comprehensive written examination shall constitute not less than 20 percent of the evaluation criteria for the selection of any officer for full-time attendance at an intermediate-level service school (certain military colleges). Requires such an examination for each class entering such a school after September 30, 2007.
Prohibits an officer, after September 30, 2009, from being accepted for or assigned to a program of instruction designated as joint professional military education (JPME) Phase II unless such officer has successfully completed a program of instruction designated as JPME Phase I. Authorizes the JCS Chairman to grant exceptions to such requirement on a case-by-case basis for compelling cause. Limits the number of officers so excepted to ten percent of the total number of officers selected. Outlines Phase II requirements and curriculum content, including joint attitudes and perspectives and joint warfighting skills, as well as national security strategy and theater strategy and campaigning. Prescribes student-faculty ratios when Phase II is taught at a senior level service school. Requires the length of the principal course of instruction at each intermediate and senior level school to be at least ten months, authorizing the Secretary to waive such requirement during a period of war or national emergency. Directs the Secretary to include in an annual report to Congress specified information with respect to JPME.
(Sec. 542) Authorizes the Secretary to award a ribbon for successful completion of JPME Phase I, and a device, to wear with such ribbon, for successful completion of JPME Phase II.
(Sec. 543) Increases from ten to 20 the maximum number of employees who work in organizations relevant to national security who are eligible to receive instruction at the National Defense University.
(Sec. 544) Requires (with an authorized waiver on a case-by-case basis) that, after September 30, 2007, officers on the active duty list complete JPME Phase I or II before being appointed to the grade of colonel or Navy captain.
Subtitle F: Other Education and Training Matters - (Sec. 551) Authorizes the Secretary of each military department to establish a program to increase the number and level of qualifications of persons entering the Armed Forces as enlisted members by encouraging recruits to pursue higher education or vocational or technical training before entry into active service. Authorizes the Secretary concerned to provide for delayed entry, through service in the reserves or National Guard, while allowing for such education or training. Limits such delayed entry to 30 months after accepting an enlistment. Provides a monthly allowance during such delayed entry (requiring satisfactory service in the reserves or National Guard during such period). Requires a pro rate recoupment of such allowance for any period of service not successfully completed during the delayed entry period. Repeals a similar Army College First program under the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2000. Provides a $5 million limit in FY 2005 obligations under the delayed entry program.
(Sec. 552) Shifts the authority for conferring associate degrees at the Community College of the Air Force from the commander of the Air Education and Training Command to the commander of Air University.
(Sec. 553) Redesignates the Superintendent of the Naval Postgraduate School as the President of the Naval Postgraduate School. Establishes at such School the position of Provost and Academic Dean.
(Sec. 554) Extends from two to three years the period for which educational leave of absence may be authorized.
(Sec. 555) Makes military academy cadets and midshipmen eligible for disability retired pay for illness or injury sustained while at such academy during any period after the enactment of this Act. Makes members of, and designated applicants for membership in, the Senior ROTC eligible for medical and dental care for illness or injury sustained during such service, or while traveling to or from such service (except in cases of gross negligence or misconduct).
(Sec. 556) Authorizes the superintendent of a service academy to have in effect a policy concerning the offering of a voluntary, nondenominational prayer at an authorized academy activity.
(Sec. 557) Repeals the requirement that superintendents of the military academies retire after completion of such service. Requires such individuals to serve at least a three-year term as superintendent. Requires that, if such a superintendent is reassigned before the three-year period, then the Secretary concerned must notify the defense committees of the reasons for the curtailed assignment.
(Sec. 558) Codifies under Federal Armed Forces law provisions of the NDAA for Fiscal Year 1995 which prohibit the imposition of charges for tuition, room, or board at the military academies and the U.S. Coast Guard and Merchant Marine Academies.
(Sec. 559) Requires that, if a person selected as Dean of the Air Force Academy is not an officer on active duty, then the individual must be either a retired or former officer of the Armed Forces. Requires any person appointed or assigned as Dean to hold the highest academic degree in that person's academic field.
Subtitle G: Medals and Decorations and Special Promotions and Appointments - (Sec. 561) Directs the President to establish separate campaign medals to recognize service by U.S. military personnel in Operations Enduring Freedom or Iraqi Freedom.
(Sec. 562) Directs the President to extend eligibility for the National Service Medal, with respect to service on or after September 11, 2001, to members of all of the uniformed services.
(Sec. 563) Authorizes the President to appoint Brigadier General Charles E. Yeager, U.S. Air Force (retired), to the grade of major general on the Air Force retired list.
(Sec. 564) Authorizes the President to issue a posthumous commission as major general, U.S. Army, for the late William Mitchell, who resigned his commission as colonel on February 1, 1926.
Subtitle H: Military Justice Matters - (Sec. 571) Directs the Secretary to: (1) review the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and the Manual for Courts-Martial to determine changes required to improve the ability of the military justice system to address issues relating to sexual assault and to conform the UCMJ and such Manual more closely to other Federal laws and regulations addressing such issues; and (2) report to the defense committees on the results of such review.
(Sec. 572) Provides that service time will not be considered lost (and therefore required to be made up) when an enlisted member or officer is confined in connection with a trial if the confinement is excused as unavoidable.
(Sec. 573) Allows a judge advocate or civilian attorney who is authorized to provide military legal assistance to provide that assistance in any jurisdiction, subject to regulations as prescribed by the Secretary concerned.
Subtitle I: Management and Administrative Matters - (Sec. 581) Extends through FY 2008 (currently FY 2005) certain limitations on reductions of military and civilian personnel assigned to the review and correction of military records.
(Sec. 582) Establishes specific minimum levels of staffing and funding for the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office. (Currently, only "sufficient" levels are required for such Office.) Prohibits reductions in such levels unless specifically authorized by law.
(Sec. 583) Directs the Secretary concerned, in issuing military ID cards to retiree dependents, to issue a permanent ID card (not subject to renewal) to any such dependent who has attained 70 years of age.
(Sec. 584) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to furnish civilian clothing, at a cost not to exceed $250, to members traveling in connection with a medical evacuation to a military medical facility or another medical facility approved by such Secretary.
(Sec. 585) Authorizes the Secretary to accept the donation of frequent traveler miles, credits, and tickets to facilitate rest and recuperation travel of deployed members of the Armed Forces and their families. Requires consent to such donation by the air or surface carrier that issued the benefit.
(Sec. 586) Prohibits amendment or cancellation of the DOD directive entitled "Personal Commercial Solicitation on DOD Installations" until one year after a General Accounting Office report containing results of an investigation regarding insurance premium allotment processing is submitted to specified congressional committees.
(Sec. 587) Directs the Secretary to report annually to the defense committees on discharges from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps during the preceding fiscal year.
(Sec. 588) Authorizes Federal recognition of National Guard commissioned officers appointed from former Coast Guard personnel.
(Sec. 589) Requires a report from the Secretary of the Air Force to Congress on the blended wing concept for the Air Force.
(Sec. 590) Provides an adjustment, with respect to the 2004-2005 school year, in the computation of impact aid funding provided by the Department of Education to certain local educational agencies heavily impacted by dependents of military personnel.
Subtitle J: Other Matters - (Sec. 591) Extends DOD employment preference provisions to spouses of DOD civilian employees who have had a change of permanent duty assignment that: (1) was based on the needs of the Government; and (2) required a relocation of the employee's residence.
(Sec. 592) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2002 to repeal the requirement that the Secretary conduct a demonstration project to permit absentee military voters to cast their ballots for the Federal election to be held in November 2004 through an electronic voting system.
(Sec. 593) Directs that the Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies, established under the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004, should: (1) continue for at least 18 additional months after their currently-scheduled termination; (2) after such additional period, change its name to the Defense Task Force on Sexual Assault in the Military Services; (3) then conduct an examination of matters relating to sexual assault in cases in which members of the Armed Forces are either victims or commit acts of sexual assault; (4) recommend ways by which civilian officials within DOD and leadership within the Armed Forces may more effectively address matters relating to sexual assault; and (5) report on examination results to the Secretaries of Defense and the military departments. Requires the Secretary to submit such report, together with an evaluation, to the defense committees.
(Sec. 594) Amends the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 (Thurmond Act) to reestablish during FY 2005 a pilot program for treating GED and home school diploma recipients as high school graduates for purposes of eligibility for enlistment.
(Sec. 595) Earmarks specified DOD O&M funds for assistance to local educational agencies that benefit dependents of members of the Armed Forces and DOD civilian employees. Requires notification of such assistance from the Secretary to each eligible local educational agency.
(Sec. 596) Directs the Secretary to obtain an annual verification from colleges and universities that currently support a Senior ROTC program that, during the next academic year, such institution will: (1) permit the Secretary of each military department to maintain a unit of the Senior ROTC at that institution, should such Secretary elect to do so; and (2) if such Secretary elects not to do so, permit a student of that institution to enroll in a unit of the Senior ROTC at another institution of higher education. Requires that military recruiters be given access to college or university campuses and students that is at least equal in quality and scope to the access provided to any other employer. Includes funds made available for the Department of Homeland Security, the National Nuclear Security Administration of the Department of Energy, and the Central Intelligence Agency among the funding sources that could be terminated if an institution is found to have a policy of preventing military recruiter or Senior ROTC unit access.
(Sec. 597) Directs the Secretary to report to the: (1) defense committees on the number of positions in DOD converted during the previous fiscal year from from performance by military personnel to performance by civilian personnel; (2) defense and appropriations committees on how a system to embed certain civilian expertise skill sets within the military on a temporary basis could be implemented; (3) defense and appropriations committees on the milestones within the multiyear transformation for internal military-to-military transitions; and (4) defense and appropriations committees on the status of the internal transformation of the Army from a division-oriented system to a brigade-oriented system.
Title VI: Compensation and Other Personnel Benefits - Subtitle A: Pay and Allowances - (Sec. 601) Waives any FY 2005 pay increases tied to increases in the General Schedule of Compensation for Government employees. Increases, effective January 1, 2005, by 3.5 percent the rates of basic pay for military personnel.
(Sec. 602) Authorizes (currently requires) the Secretary concerned to pay a family separation basic allowance for housing when a member's dependents are unable to accompany a member to a new location.
(Sec. 603) Provides that if a member is assigned to a new area for military education or training lasting one year or less, the Secretary concerned may base the amount of the basic allowance for housing due to such member on either the duty station to which the member is reassigned or the area in which the member's dependents still reside, whichever such Secretary determines is the most equitable.
(Sec. 604) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to make an immediate lump-sum reimbursement for unusual nonrecurring expenses incurred by members serving outside the continental United States.
(Sec. 605) Requires the Secretary concerned to pay to involuntarily mobilized reserve personnel who are subject to extended and frequent active duty mobilized service the difference between the monthly compensation received during such service (including any special pay and allowances) and the average monthly income received by such members during the 12 months preceding the month of such mobilization. Outlines member eligibility requirements and minimum and maximum differential payment amounts.
(Sec. 606) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to provide a member with advance basic pay of up to three months (one month automatically at the member's request and up to two additional months based upon a showing of financial hardship) for members assigned for one year or more to locations at which imminent danger special pay is authorized.
Subtitle B: Bonuses and Special and Incentive Pays - (Sec. 611) Extends through 2005 specified authorities currently scheduled to expire at the end of 2004 with respect to certain special pay and bonus programs within the regular and reserve Armed Forces.
(Sec. 612) Reduces from four to three years the service commitment required for the nurse accession bonus.
(Sec. 613) Increases from $300 to $750 the maximum monthly authorized hardship duty pay.
(Sec. 614) Requires termination of assignment incentive pay when the member is placed on terminal leave and will not be returning to the assignment location.
(Sec. 615) Extends eligibility for the regular and reserve reenlistment bonus to members who have served at least 17 months of regular or reserve service but not more than 18 years of total service. (Currently, such eligibility is limited to members who have served at least 17 months of continuous active duty but not more than 14 years of total active duty.) Allows such bonus to be paid during war and national emergencies to address unit specific retention problems without regard to critical skill eligibility requirements. Repeals separate reserve enlistment and reenlistment bonus authorities. Limits to $20 million the FY 2005 obligation of funding for the payment of enlistment and reenlistment bonuses as expanded under this section.
(Sec. 616) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to pay an annual bonus of up to $12,000 (currently, $300 per month) to members who maintain proficiency in a foreign language the proficiency of which is necessary due to national defense or public health considerations.
(Sec. 617) Revises provisions authorizing special pay for active-duty personnel qualified in a critical military skill to: (1) allow such bonus also for members serving in an active status in a reserve component; (2) include under such authority enlisted personnel serving under an indefinite reenlistment, as long as the member executes a written agreement to remain on active duty or in active status in a reserve component for at least one year; (3) allow the Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security to designate other criteria (beside the critical military skill) under which such bonus may be paid; and (4) limit to $10 million the FY 2005 obligation of funding for the payment of such bonus as expanded under this section.
(Sec. 618) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to pay an accession bonus to reserve (currently, only regular) officers performing service in a designated critical skill. Limits to $5 million the FY 2005 obligation of funding for the payment of such bonus as expanded under this section.
(Sec. 619) Allows reserve (currently, only regular) personnel to be paid a bonus for converting to critical occupational specialties in order to ease personnel shortages. Limits to $3 million the FY 2005 obligation of funding for the payment of such bonus as expanded under this section.
(Sec. 620) Authorizes the payment of hazardous duty incentive pay for regular participation as a firefighting crew member.
Subtitle C: Travel and Transportation Allowances - (Sec. 631) Authorizes family members, including surviving parents, to travel at Government expense to the burial site of a member who dies while on active duty or inactive duty. Limits to $2 million the FY 2005 obligation of funding for the payment of such expenses as expanded under this section.
(Sec. 632) Removes the current two-person family member limit for the transportation at Government expense of family members incident to the serious illness or injury of members of the Armed Forces. Includes among authorized family members other persons approved by the Secretary concerned. Allows the Secretary concerned to provide either the transportation or a per diem allowance to cover such expenses. Limits to $3 million the FY 2005 obligation of funding for the payment of such expenses as expanded under this section.
(Sec. 633) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to reimburse a member for lodging costs incurred by a dependent child traveling between the child's school and the member's overseas duty station when such costs are incurred for reasons beyond the control of the dependent child.
Subtitle D: Retired Pay and Survivor Benefits - (Sec. 641) Increases the annuities paid under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) to survivors of military retirees who are age 62 or older from the current 35 percent of the military retired pay of the member to: (1) 40 percent, for months after September 2005 and before April 2006; (2) 45 percent, for months after March 2006 and before April 2007; (3) 50 percent, for months after March 2007 and before April 2008; and (4) 55 percent, for months after March 2008. Makes corresponding adjustments under the SBP supplemental annuity program. Requires the recalculation of SBP annuities at the same time that the SBP percentages are increased.
(Sec. 642) Authorizes an open enrollment period, for the two-year period beginning on October 1, 2005, for retired members to participate in the SBP and the supplemental SBP, or to increase their level of participation if not previously participating at the maximum authorized level. Authorizes the Secretary to require an additional premium for increased participation. Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense committees on the SBP open season.
(Sec. 643) Requires the Secretary to calculate the required necessary payments into the Department of Defense Military Retirement Fund in support of the additional authorized open enrollment period, above.
Subtitle E: Commissary and Nonappropriated Fund Instrumentality Benefits - (Sec. 651) Consolidates and reorganizes certain legislative provisions regarding commissary stores and other military morale, welfare, and recreation activities. Directs the Secretary to operate a worldwide system of commissary stores. (Currently, the Defense Commissary Agency (DCA) is authorized to contract out for such services, and private persons are authorized to operate such stores.) Mandates that: (1) the needs of members on active duty and their dependents be the primary consideration for establishing a store and its location; and (2) the effect on the quality of life of members and their dependents and on the welfare and security of the appropriate military community be the primary consideration for the closure of such a store. Requires congressional notification, at least 90 days in advance, in the case of the closure of a store. Includes additional items, such as telephone and greeting cards and disposable cameras and film, among those authorized to be sold at commissary stores as space permits. Prohibits such stores from offering film development services. States that, until December 31, 2009, the DCA is not required to conduct any cost-comparison study relating to the possible contracting-out of commissary store functions. Requires the: (1) chairman of the governing board of the DCA to be a commissioned officer or member of the Senior Executive Service with experience or knowledge relevant to management of the defense commissary system; and (2) the Secretary, in selecting board members, to give priority to those with experience related to logistics, military personnel, military entitlements or other experiences of value in the management of commissaries. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) assign an officer on the active-duty list as Director of the DCA; and (2) donate unusable commissary store food to charitable and veterans' organizations.
(Sec. 652) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 1995 to identify the Department of Defense Nonappropriated Fund Uniform Health Benefits Program as a Federal health benefits program not subject to any State tax, fee, or payment, or State health plan requirement.
(Sec. 653) Requires that professional staff supporting the participation by military and civilian DOD dependents in qualified scouting organizations (the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America) in overseas areas be made nonappropriated fund employees of the United States, but allows appropriated funds to be used to pay the salaries of such employees.
Subtitle F: Other Matters - (Sec. 661) Repeals the requirement that officers and certain enlisted personnel pay subsistence charges while hospitalized in a military medical facility.
(Sec. 662) Qualifies college loans involving both a basic professional qualifying degree or graduate education in a profession for repayment under the DOD education loan repayment program.
(Sec. 663) Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a survey of reserve personnel who serve, or have served, on active duty in support of a contingency operation during the period beginning September 11, 2001, and ending on September 30, 2005, to determine if such personnel experienced a reduction in monthly income during such period compared to the average monthly civilian income of such members during the 12 months preceding their mobilization; and (2) report survey results, together with appropriate recommendations, to Congress and the CG. Requires the CG to submit to Congress an assessment of the survey's findings and the Secretary's recommendations.
Title VII: Health Care Provisions - Subtitle A: Enhanced Benefits for Reserves - (Sec. 701) Directs the Secretary, beginning in FY 2005, to conduct a demonstration project to test whether TRICARE (a DOD managed health care program) coverage for certain Ready Reserve members and their families enhances medical readiness and retention of such members. Prohibits project participation by a member if their income in the prior calendar year exceeded $40,000. Terminates the project after December 31, 2007. Requires a report from the Secretary to Congress on project results. Requires the CG to evaluate the project's results and report evaluation results to the defense committees.
(Sec. 702) Requires the CG to: (1) conduct a study on the feasibility of providing a stipend to members of the Ready Reserve to offset the cost of continuing private health insurance coverage for the member's dependents while the member is on active duty for a period of more than 30 days, with the dependents being ineligible to enroll in the TRICARE program during the duty period and the stipend ending when the member completes such active duty; and (2) report study results to the defense committees.
(Sec. 703) Makes permanent (currently ends December 31, 2004) the authority for TRICARE coverage for members of the reserve called or ordered to active duty, and their dependents. Allows such coverage for up to 90 days before the active-duty period begins. Authorizes the Secretary to provide a reserve member who is issued a delayed-effective-date active-duty order, or is covered by such an order, such medical and dental care as the Secretary deems appropriate.
(Sec. 704) Authorizes the Secretary to waive deductible payments required by certain TRICARE programs for dependents of certain reserve or National Guard personnel called or ordered to active duty for more than 30 days (currently, less than one year).
(Sec. 705) Authorizes the Secretary to pay additional amounts billed by health care providers in the case of services provided to a dependent of a reserve member ordered to active duty for more than 30 days in support of a contingency operation.
(Sec. 706) Makes permanent (currently expires December 31, 2004) the authority of the Secretary to provide transitional health care benefits to members and their dependents for up to 180 days following the member's separation from active duty. Requires such benefits to cease before such period if the beneficiaries acquire employer-sponsored health coverage. Limits to $170 million the DOD O&M funds that may be used to provide such transitional benefits during the period from January 1 through September 30, 2005.
Subtitle B: Other Benefits Improvements - (Sec. 711) Allows dependents of a young age at the date of death of a member who dies while serving on active duty or as a member of the Ready Reserve to enroll in the TRICARE dental program regardless of the dependent's dental plan enrollment status on the date of death of the member.
(Sec. 712) Requires the CG to: (1) evaluate the effect of the Exceptional Family Member Program on health and support services in selected civilian communities near military installations with a high concentration of Program enrollees; and (2) report evaluation results to the defense committees.
(Sec. 713) Allows the Secretary to waive certain restrictions with regard to TRICARE Prime Remote medical care coverage for active-duty family members that reside at a remote location if the Secretary determines that waiving such restrictions are warranted by exceptional circumstances.
(Sec. 714) Directs the Secretary to establish procedures for the transition to and implementation of the home health care benefit under DOD's sub-acute care program.
(Sec. 715) Prohibits the prescription drug cost-sharing requirements for Medicare-eligible military beneficiaries from exceeding such requirements applicable to non-Medicare-eligible beneficiaries.
(Sec. 716) Allows dependents under age 13 who are participating in a military dental plan to be treated by postgraduate dental students in eligible dental treatment facilities, under specified conditions, including treatment compliance with American Dental Association standards. Prohibits the total number of such patients treated from exceeding 2,000 in a fiscal year.
(Sec. 717) Permits certain unremarried former spouses of members or former members to participate in the TRICARE retiree dental program if such former spouses have no dental coverage under an employer-sponsored health plan.
(Sec. 718) Authorizes the Secretary to waive the collection of certain payments for health care services provided during a period of ineligibility for such services beginning July 1, 1999, and ending December 31, 2004, for beneficiaries under age 65 who are entitled to Medicare on the basis of end stage renal disease, as long as such beneficiaries were unaware of the loss of such coverage at the time the services were received. Authorizes the Secretary to continue coverage for such individuals through such period. Requires quarterly reports from the Secretary to the defense committees regarding efforts to identify persons who satisfy such criteria and actions taken with respect to individuals so identified.
Subtitle C: Planning, Programming, and Management - (Sec. 721) Directs the Secretary to: (1) examine methods for leveraging and expanding nonmilitary health care resources to provide health care to military beneficiaries; (2) conduct a pilot program during FY 2005-2007 at one or more military installations for such purpose; and (3) submit an interim and final pilot program report to the defense committees. Authorizes the use of DOD O&M funds for the program during FY 2005.
(Sec. 722) Directs the Secretary to: (1) study the feasibility and desirability of providing that a member retired for a combat-related disability shall be provided reimbursement for expenses incurred by the member, during the two-year period following such retirement, for travel to a military treatment facility for medical care; and (2) report study results to the defense and appropriations committees.
Title VIII: Acquisition Policy, Acquisition Management, and Related Matters - Subtitle A: Amendments to General Contracting Authorities, Procedures, and Limitations - (Sec. 801) Authorizes the Secretary to rapidly acquire equipment needed by a combatant commander to eliminate a combat capability deficiency that has resulted in combat fatalities. Directs the Secretary to develop and submit to Congress a process for such rapid acquisition. Prohibits such acquisition in an amount more than $100 million in a fiscal year. Requires the Secretary to notify the defense and appropriations committees within 15 days after each use of such authority.
(Sec. 802) Removes the requirement that only employees within GS-13 or above may be selected to a position in the Acquisition Corps of a military department. Includes for the Secretary, in designating critical acquisition positions in DOD, the same personnel positions that the Secretaries of other Federal departments and agencies are required to designate as critical acquisition positions. Requires the Secretary, with respect to any scholarship program conducted in connection with the employment of a person in a critical position, to enter into an agreement that identifies obligations and consequences for breach of contract.
(Sec. 803) Authorizes the head of an agency entering into a task or delivery order contract for DOD to provide for the contract to cover any base period of up to five years, with authority to extend such contract for one or more successive periods as appropriate.
(Sec. 804) Directs the head of the agency concerned, with respect to proposed multiyear defense procurement contracts, to provide written notification to the defense and appropriations committees if the budget for the contract does not include proposed funding up to the contract cancellation ceiling.
(Sec. 805) Increases from $500,000 to $1 million the threshold for requiring defense contractors to provide specified employee information to certain cooperative agreement organizations.
(Sec. 806) Amends the Clinger-Cohen Act to extend until October 1, 2009, the authority for the use of simplified acquisition procedures in the purchase of commercial items valued at $5 million or less.
(Sec. 807) Authorizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation Council and the heads of executive agencies to adjust for inflation the dollar thresholds under Federal procurement law in order to maintain the constant dollar value of the threshold. Outlines additional requirements, limitations, and exclusions with respect to such adjustments.
Subtitle B: United States Defense Industrial Base Provisions - (Sec. 811) Directs the Secretary to ensure that DOD policies and practices reflect the goal of establishing an equitable trading relationship between the United States and its foreign defense trade partners, including ensuring that U.S. firms and U.S. employment in the defense sector are not disadvantaged by unilateral procurement practices by foreign governments, such as the imposition by such governments of offset agreements or similar requirements in defense procurements. Requires a country participating in a DOD procurement contract to agree to apply offset agreements to the procurement of defense articles and services from U.S. firms in the same manner and to the same degree as such agreements are applied by DOD to the procurement of defense articles and services from that country. Allows an exception to such equal offset requirement for national security purposes, requiring the defense and appropriations committees to be notified 30 days in advance.
(Sec. 812) Requires the Secretary to notify Congress and the public (through a specified Government website) 15 days prior to the exercise of a waiver of DOD domestic source requirements (requirements that certain items procured by DOD be grown, reprocessed, reused, or produced in the United States). Further defines certain clothing material and components listed under such requirements.
(Sec. 813) Directs the Secretary to delay by three years the phase-out of the restriction on acquisition of polyacrylonitrile carbon fiber from foreign sources.
(Sec. 814) Authorizes the Secretary to make grants during FY 2005 to qualified defense contractor groups for cost-cutting measures, retraining programs, technology development, and plant upgrades. Limits to: (1) 50 percent the Federal share of the costs of the strategy carried out under such a grant; and (2) $50 million the authorized funds for such purpose. Authorizes appropriations to the Defense Industrial Base Capabilities Fund for such purpose.
(Sec. 815) Requires the Secretary to grant preferences to freight forwarder companies owned and controlled by U.S. citizens that offer fair and reasonable rates in the award of transportation service contracts to, from, or within Iraq or Afghanistan.
Subtitle C: Other Acquisition Matters - (Sec. 821) Directs the Secretary to require that, whenever a new major defense acquisition program (MDAP) begins development, the defense acquisition authority responsible for that program shall develop a plan, to be known as the sustainment and modernization plan, for the system that the system under development is intended to replace. Mandates that plan requirements do not apply to an MDAP that reaches initial operational capability before October 1, 2008. Outlines plan requirements, including a milestone schedule for the replacement system and certain analyses of the existing system. Requires an annual review with respect to the performance of each replacement MDAP. Provides MDAP exceptions to such plan and review requirements. Allows the Secretary to waive any of the above requirements in order to meet national security objectives.
(Sec. 822) Directs the Secretary to: (1) review DOD policies, procedures, practices, and penalties relating to employees of defense contractors for purposes of ensuring DOD compliance with a specified executive order which prohibits entering into contracts with contractors not in compliance with the Immigration and Nationality Act; (2) conduct a demonstration project for promoting greater contracting opportunities for contractors who are in compliance with such Act; and (3) report to the defense committees a review of the demonstration project, together with appropriate recommendations on ensuring compliance with such executive order.
(Sec. 823) Prohibits, effective October 1, 2005, the number of DOD defense acquisition and support personnel from exceeding 95 percent of the number of such personnel as of October 1, 2004. Requires the CG to: (1) study DOD management of such personnel; and (2) report study results to the defense committees. Directs the Defense Acquisition University to: (1) study all the training programs offered to such personnel; and (2) report study results to the defense committees.
(Sec. 824) Directs the Secretary, upon request of the chairman or ranking member of either defense committee, to provide, with respect to any contract or task or delivery order contract entered into by DOD, unredacted copies of any documents required to be maintained in the contracting office contract file, the contract administration office contract file, and the paying office contract file pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulation.
Title IX: Department of Defense Organization and Management - (Sec. 901) Redesignates the position of Secretary of the Navy as Secretary of the Navy and Marine Corps.
(Sec. 902) Transfers the Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs from DOD's National Defense University to the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
(Sec. 903) Amends the Thurmond Act to transfer as of January 1, 2005, oversight of the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (ACWA) program (formerly the Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment program) from the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics to the Secretary of the Army. Provides for ACWA management under the Army's chemical weapons demilitarization program. Directs the Secretary of the Army to fully implement the alternative technologies previously selected for the destruction of lethal chemical munitions at Pueblo Chemical Depot, Colorado, and Blue Grass Army Depot, Kentucky.
(Sec. 904) Amends the David L. Boren National Security Education Act of 1991 to require scholarship recipients, within three years after completing required studies (two years for fellowship students), to work for at least one year in a national security position certified by the Secretary as appropriate for using the unique language and regional expertise acquired by the student during such studies.
(Sec. 905) Includes the: (1) Commandant of the Coast Guard within the membership of the Armed Forces Policy Council; and (2) Under Secretary of Defense for Policy within the membership of the Nuclear Weapons Council.
(Sec. 906) Directs the Secretary to: (1) prescribe policies regarding procedures for the Armed Forces and other elements of DOD, as well as DOD contractor personnel, intended to prevent the conditions leading to acts of abuse of detainees who are held by the United States as part of the Global War on Terrorism; and (2) submit to the defense committees a copy of the policies prescribed and a report on the implementation of those policies.
(Sec. 907) Requires the Secretary, or any other DOD official requested by the chairman of a defense committee to respond to a question or inquiry of a chairman or a committee member pursuant to a committee hearing or other activity, to so respond within 21 days of such request.
Title X: General Provisions - Subtitle A: Financial Matters - (Sec. 1001) Authorizes the Secretary, in the national interest, to transfer up to $3 billion of the amounts made available to DOD in this Act between any such authorizations for that fiscal year, with limitations. Requires congressional notification of each transfer.
(Sec. 1002) Requires that, in any case in which the amount requested in the President's budget for a fiscal year for a DOD O&M program, project, or activity is different from the amount appropriated for that program, project, or activity, the O&M justification documents supporting that budget shall identify the appropriated amount and the difference between that amount and the amount requested. Requires separate O&M budget justification with respect to: (1) personal service contracts, and personal service contractors paid in excess of the salary of the Vice President; (2) Navy subactivities for ship depot maintenance and for intermediate ship maintenance; and (3) average civilian salary costs. Directs the Secretary to report to the defense and appropriations committees setting forth component elements of "Other Costs" and "Other Contracts" as set forth in the FY 2006 budget justification documents.
(Sec. 1003) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to license trademarks, service marks, certification marks, and collective marks owned by a military department and to retain and expend fees received from such licensing. Requires excess licensing funds to be used for: (1) military personnel recruiting and retention activities; and (2) departmental morale, welfare, and recreation activities.
(Sec. 1004) Authorizes the Secretary to waive indebtedness owed to DOD when the costs of collection of the indebtedness are expected to exceed the amount recoverable. Makes the micro-purchase threshold, or $2,500, the maximum amount that may be so waived.
(Sec. 1005) Repeals Federal law providing near-, mid-, and far-term funding restrictions with respect to the development of medical countermeasures against biological warfare threats.
(Sec. 1006) Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense committees on the foreign currency exchange rate projection used in annual DOD budget presentations. Requires the CG to review such report and submit review results to the defense committees.
Subtitle B: Naval Vessels and Shipyards - (Sec. 1011) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to award contracts for the dismantling of vessels stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on a net-cost basis. Allows contractors to retain proceeds from the sale of scrap and reusable equipment from such vessels.
(Sec. 1012) Directs the Secretary to provide for an independent study of the cost effectiveness of the Navy ship construction program. Requires the study to address near-term improvements in construction efficiency, as well as the global competitiveness of the U.S. shipbuilding industry. Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense and appropriations committees on study results.
(Sec. 1013) Authorizes the President to transfer: (1) on a grant basis the destroyer O'BANNON to the Government of Chile and the guided missile frigate GEORGE PHILIP to the Government of Portugal; and (2) on a sale basis the dock landing ship ANCHORAGE to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States. Prohibits the vessels transferred on a grant basis from counting against the aggregate value limit of excess defense articles transferred in a fiscal year under provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Requires: (1) all costs of transfers made on a grant basis to be borne by the recipients; and (2) any pre-transfer vessel repair or refurbishment to be performed at a U.S. shipyard, including a Navy shipyard. Terminates the vessel transfer authority two years after enactment of this Act.
(Sec. 1014) Prohibits the Secretary concerned from making a contract for a lease or charter of a vessel for a term of more than 12 months if the hull, a major component of the hull, or superstructure of the vessel is constructed in a foreign shipyard. Authorizes the President, after 30 days' prior notice to Congress, to waive such prohibition in the national security interest.
Subtitle C: Sunken Military Aircraft - (Sec. 1021) Mandates that any right, title, and interest of the United States in and to any U.S. sunken military craft shall not be extinguished by the passage of time, regardless of when the craft sank.
(Sec. 1022) Prohibits any person from engaging, or attempting to engage, in any activity directed at a sunken military craft that disturbs, removes, or injures any such craft, except as authorized by a permit under this subtitle, regulations issued under this subtitle, or otherwise by law. Provides limitations and exceptions.
(Sec. 1023) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to issue permits with respect to such activity for archaeological, historical, or educational purposes.
(Sec. 1024) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to assess a civil penalty of up to $100,000 for each violation of this subtitle.
(Sec. 1025) Provides liability for damages caused in violation of this subtitle.
(Sec. 1027) Encourages the Secretary of State to negotiate and conclude bilateral and multilateral agreements with foreign countries with regard to sunken military aircraft consistent with this subtitle.
Subtitle D: Counter-Drug Activities - (Sec. 1031) Authorizes the Secretary, during FY 2005 and 2006, to use funds made available to DOD for drug interdiction and counter-drug activities to provide assistance to the Government of Colombia to: (1) support a unified campaign against narcotics trafficking; (2) support a unified campaign against activities by designated terrorist organizations; and (3) take actions to protect human health and welfare in emergency circumstances, including undertaking rescue operations.
(Sec. 1032) Prohibits DOD funds from being used to support or maintain more than 500 members of the Armed Forces on duty at any one time in the Republic of Colombia. Provides exclusions.
Subtitle E: Reports - (Sec. 1041) Directs the Secretary to: (1) study whether the practice of using two alternating crews for the manning of ballistic missile submarines continues to be justified under changed circumstances since the end of the Cold War; (2) determine whether such practice should be continued, modified, or terminated; and (3) report such determination to the defense committees.
(Sec. 1042) Directs the Secretary to report to the defense and appropriations committees describing the effect on both military readiness and the defense industrial base that would result from elimination of the U.S. domestic firearms manufacturing base.
(Sec. 1043) Directs the Secretary to: (1) study the extent to which members of the Armed Forces assigned to duty in support of contingency operations receive training in preparation for post-conflict operations and to evaluate the quality of such training; and (2) report study results to the defense committees.
Subtitle F: Security Matters - (Sec. 1051) Authorizes individuals conducting personnel security investigations for Federal employment and access to national security information purposes to request the chief driver licensing official of a State to obtain the use of the National Driver Register for an individual's driver information.
(Sec. 1052) Authorizes (current law prohibits) decisions on the granting of meritorious security-clearance waivers for certain otherwise-prohibited individuals to be delegated by the Secretary or the Secretary concerned. Allows such waivers to be granted only under authority of an executive order or other guidance issued by the President.
Subtitle G: Transportation-Related Matters - (Sec. 1061) Authorizes the Secretary, under specified circumstances, to use military aircraft to transport mail and parcels to, from, and between overseas locations.
(Sec. 1062) Reorganizes certain Federal Armed Forces provisions relating to the control and supervision of transportation within DOD. Empowers the Secretary (currently, the appropriate department Secretary) with authority over all such transportation. Repeals contrary Federal laws.
(Sec. 1063) Amends the Emergency Wartime Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2003 to make the Secretary of Transportation responsible for certifying whether an air carrier is effectively controlled by U.S. citizens, for purposes of eligibility for Government contracts for the transportation of passengers or supplies.
(Sec. 1064) Directs the Secretary to evaluate whether, and under what circumstances, in the award of service contracts for domestic freight transportation for security-sensitive cargo, the Secretary should not consider an offer or tender from more than one motor carrier that is part of a group of motor carriers under common financial or administrative control. Requires a report to the defense committees on evaluation results.
Subtitle H: Other Matters - (Sec. 1071) Extends through 2006 the authority of the Secretary to engage in commercial activities as security (cover) for intelligence collection activities abroad.
(Sec. 1072) Directs the Secretary to provide assistance to a community to study the feasibility of establishing and operating a biennial international air trade show in the area of that community. Requires the Secretary, in selecting a community, to: (1) use competitive procedures; and (2) give a preference to those communities that already sponsor an air show, have demonstrated a history of supporting air shows with local resources, and have a significant role in the aerospace community.
(Sec. 1074) Establishes the Commission on the Long-Term Implementation of the New Strategic Posture of the United States to: (1) examine long-term programmatic requirements to achieve the goals set forth in a specified report of the Secretary providing the results of the Nuclear Posture Review conducted under the Spence Act, and results of periodic assessments of such Review; and (2) report to the Secretary and the defense committees on its findings and conclusions.
(Sec. 1075) Extends to volunteers working in the maritime training environment the same status and legal liability protection currently authorized for DOD volunteers working in the land-based training environment.
(Sec. 1076) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to convey to a named individual all U.S. rights and interest to a F3A-1 Brewster Corsair aircraft.
Title XI: Department of Defense Civilian Personnel - (Sec. 1101) Provides for the continuation of Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) coverage for up to 24 months for a Federal employee who is: (1) currently enrolled in the FEHBP; and (2) as a member of the reserves, is called or ordered to active duty in support of a contingency operation and serves on such duty for more than 30 consecutive days.
(Sec. 1102) Revises Federal provisions which authorize the Secretary to pay foreign language proficiency pay for a DOD employee certified as proficient in a foreign language deemed necessary for national security interests and whose duties require such proficiency to repeal the requirement that the individual perform such duties during a contingency operation.
(Sec. 1103) Directs the Secretary, with respect to personnel in the defense intelligence senior executive service, to use a performance appraisal system similar to that established and implemented for personnel of DOD's Senior Executive Service.
(Sec. 1104) Authorizes the Secretary to adjust the pay totals of senior executives employed by DOD nonappropriated fund instrumentalities to achieve pay parity with personnel of DOD's Senior Executive Service.
(Sec. 1105) Prohibits the unauthorized wearing or merchandising of civilian DOD medals or decorations. Authorizes the Attorney General to initiate a civil enforcement proceeding, with a civil penalty of up to $25,000 per violation.
Title XII: Matters Relating to Other Nations - Subtitle A: Matters Relating to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Global War on Terrorism - (Sec. 1201) Directs the Secretary to establish a process for expeditiously transferring to indigenous Iraqi entities committed to publicly documenting the nature of the Saddam Hussein regime any applicable Iraqi documents and records obtained by U.S. military forces in Iraq.
(Sec. 1202) Authorizes the Secretary to expend up to $25 million in a fiscal year to provide support to foreign forces, irregular forces, groups, or individuals engaged in supporting or facilitating ongoing military operations by U.S. special operations forces to combat terrorism. Requires an annual report from the Secretary to the defense and appropriations committees on the support provided.
(Sec. 1203) Authorizes during FY 2005 the use of up to $300 million from DOD O&M funds to provide funds for the Commanders' Emergency Response Program for enabling military commanders in Iraq to respond to urgent humanitarian relief and reconstruction requirements, and for a similar program to assist the people of Afghanistan. Requires quarterly reports from the Secretary to the defense and appropriations committees on any funds so used.
(Sec. 1204) Directs the Secretary to submit to the defense committees a strategic plan for the manner in which the United States will achieve the goal of establishing viable and professional Iraqi forces able to provide long-term security of the Iraqi people. Requires quarterly reports thereafter.
(Sec. 1205) Directs the Secretary to: (1) issue guidance on the management of contractors that support deployed forces; and (2) direct the Secretaries of the military departments to develop procedures to ensure implementation of the guidance. Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense committees after the issuance of such guidance.
(Sec. 1206) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Secretary should make every protection available to Army Specialist Joseph Darby (who alerted his superiors of prisoner abuses at Abu Ghraib prison) and others who demonstrate such courage; and (2) Joseph Darby should be appropriately commended by the Secretary of the Army.
Subtitle B: Other Matters - (Sec. 1211) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to conduct a program under which members of the naval service of any of the member nations of NATO and Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Sweden may be assigned to U.S. commands to work on submarine vessel safety and rescue systems and procedures. Limits the costs payable for such personnel.
(Sec. 1212) Amends the Thurmond Act to expand the definition of a "Communist Chinese military company" for purposes of being subject, while operating in the United States, to certain presidential authorities under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
(Sec. 1213) Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on the Global Peace Operations Initiative.
(Sec. 1214) Prohibits the Secretary from procuring any goods or services from any foreign person (or successor entity, subsidiary, or affiliate thereof) that the Secretary determines has exported, transferred, or otherwise provided to governmental or non-governmental entities of the People's Republic of China any item or class of items on the U.S. Munitions List (or any item identical, substantially identical, or directly competitive to such an item). Requires such prohibition for a five-year period following such a determination. Directs the Secretary to make public a list of sanctioned persons. Provides prohibition exceptions.
Title XIII: Cooperative Threat Reduction With States of the Former Soviet Union - (Sec. 1301) Specifies the cooperative threat reduction (CTR) programs to be funded through O&M funds provided under this Act. Makes funds appropriated for such purposes available for three years. Allocates such funds among specified CTR programs. Prohibits such funds from being used for purposes other than those specified until 30 days after the Secretary reports to Congress on the new purposes. Provides limited authority to vary allocated amounts in the national interest, after congressional notification.
(Sec. 1303) Extends through FY 2005 the authority of the President to waive certain preconditions established under the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2000 with respect to funding for construction of a chemical weapons destruction facility in Russia if the President certifies to Congress why the waiver is important to U.S. national security interests.
Title XIV: Export Controls and Counterproliferation Matters - Subtitle A: Export Control Matters - (Sec. 1401) Amends the Arms Export Control Act to define the terms license, agent, and exporting agent for purposes of such Act.
(Sec. 1402) Prohibits the President from establishing an exemption from licensing requirements of such Act with respect to the export of a defense article that is considered significant military equipment.
(Sec. 1403) Prohibits the President from entering into a cooperative project with one or more friendly foreign countries under such Act if a joint resolution prohibiting the agreement is enacted into law, unless the President certifies that an emergency exists which requires the immediate approval of the agreement in the national security interests.
(Sec. 1404) Directs the President to require a license for the export of goods or technologies included on the Military Critical Technologies List developed under the Export Administration Act of 1979.
(Sec. 1405) Provides specific limitations with respect to the export of certain dual-use (military and civilian) goods or technologies, as well as related defense articles or services, to a foreign person or country that has exported any such item to the military, intelligence, police, or internal security services of the People's Republic of China.
(Sec. 1406) Requires the President, within 180 days after enactment of this Act and every six months thereafter, to report to specified congressional committees a plan for effecting a strengthened international export control system capable of achieving U.S. national security interests.
Subtitle B: Counterproliferation Matters - (Sec. 1411) Amends the Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1996 to authorize the Secretary to carry out certain counterproliferation training programs in a country in which the Secretary determines that there exists a significant threat of the unauthorized transfer and transportation of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons or related materials.
(Sec. 1412) Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a program under which foreign military defense personnel are selected to attend DOD courses and programs in counterproliferation and nonproliferation matters in order to improve the ability of such personnel to contribute to halting the illicit acquisition or transportation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) or of materials that support the development of WMDs.
Subtitle C: Initiatives Relating to Countries of Former Soviet Union - (Sec. 1421) Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to carry out a program, to be known as the Silk Road Initiative, to promote non-weapons-related employment opportunities in the United States and in Silk Road nations (certain independent states of the former Soviet Union) for scientists, engineers, and technicians formerly engaged in activities to develop and produce WMDs in those nations.
(Sec. 1422) Authorizes the Administrator for Nuclear Security to carry out a program under which the Administrator awards, to scientists employed at the Kurchatov Institute of the Russian Federation and scientists employed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory international exchange fellowships, to be known as Teller-Kurchatov Nonproliferation Fellowships, in the nuclear nonproliferation sciences. Limits: (1) the duration of a fellowship to two years, unless an extension is warranted under extraordinary circumstances as determined by the Administrator; and (2) the number of such fellowships to one at each Institute or Laboratory during a calendar year. Provides funding from funds authorized later under this Act.
(Sec. 1423) Requires a report from the Secretary to Congress on the collaborative measures that the United States and the Russian Federation could take to reduce the risks that a nuclear ballistic missile could be launched as the result of an accident, misinformation, miscalculation, or unauthorized use.
Title XV: Authorization for Increased Costs Due to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - (Sec. 1511) Authorizes appropriations, for additional costs due to Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, for FY 2005 for: (1) the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, and Air Force for aircraft, missiles, weapons and tracked combat vehicles, ammunition, National Guard and reserve equipment, and for other procurement; (2) defense-wide procurement; (3) O&M; (4) the Defense Health Program; and (5) military personnel.
(Sec. 1519) Authorizes the Secretary, in the national interest, to transfer up to $2.5 billion of the amounts made available to DOD in this title between any such authorizations for that fiscal year, with limitations. Requires congressional notification of each transfer.
(Sec. 1520) Designates amounts authorized by this title for emergency contingency operations related to the global war on terrorism.
Subtitle B: Personnel Provisions - (Sec. 1531) Increases, for each of FY 2005 through 2007, the authorized end strengths for Army and Marine Corps active-duty forces. Requires the Secretary to notify the defense committees upon a determination that adjustments to any such end strength levels are necessary, as well as the rationale for such adjustments.
(Sec. 1533) Makes permanent (currently terminates at the end of 2004) the increase in the monthly rates of: (1) imminent danger pay from $150 to $225; and (2) the family separation allowance from $100 to $250.
Subtitle C: Financial Management Matters - (Sec. 1541) Revises the process for funding required annual payments into the Department of Defense Medicare-Eligible Retiree Health Care Fund to direct the Secretary of the Treasury, beginning in FY 2006, to make annual payments from the general fund of the Treasury. (Currently, the Secretary of Defense is required to make monthly payments into the Fund.)
Division B: Military Construction Authorizations - Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 - Title XXI [sic]: Army - (Sec. 2101) 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 such Secretary to construct or acquire family housing units, carry out architectural planning and design activities, and improve existing military family housing in specified amounts. Authorizes appropriations to the Army for fiscal years after 2004 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. 2105) Amends the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year: (1) 2004 to increase the amounts authorized for military construction projects at Fort Stewart, Georgia, and Fort Drum, New York; and (2) 2003 to increase the amount authorized for a project at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
Title XXII: Navy - (Sec. 2201) Provides, with respect to the Navy, authorizations paralleling those provided for the Army under the previous title.
Title XXIII: Air Force - (Sec. 2301) Provides, with respect to the Air Force, authorizations paralleling those provided for the Army under title XXI.
Title XXIV: Defense Agencies - (Sec. 2401) 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 improve existing military family housing units and carry out certain energy conservation projects. Authorizes appropriations to DOD for fiscal years after 2004 for military construction, land acquisition, and military family housing functions of DOD. Limits the total cost of construction projects authorized by this title.
Title XXV: North Atlantic Treaty Organization Security Investment Program - (Sec. 2501) Authorizes the Secretary to make contributions for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Security Investment Program and authorizes appropriations for fiscal years after 2004 for such Program.
Title XXVI: Guard and Reserve Forces Facilities - (Sec. 2601) Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years after 2004 for National Guard and reserve forces for acquisition, architectural and engineering services, and construction of facilities.
Title XXVII: Expiration and Extension of Authorizations - (Sec. 2701) Terminates all authorizations contained in titles XXI through XXVI of this Act on October 1, 2007, or the date of enactment of an Act authorizing funds for military construction for FY 2008, whichever is later, with exceptions. Extends certain prior-year military construction projects.
Title XXVIII: General Provisions - Subtitle A: Military Construction Program and Military Family Housing Changes - (Sec. 2801) Increases from $750,000 to $1 million the minor construction project threshold at which the Secretary concerned must approve, and notify Congress at least 21 days in advance of, the use of department O&M funds for such project.
(Sec. 2802) Directs the Secretary to develop common guidance and criteria to be used by the Secretary concerned to: (1) assess the vulnerability of U.S. military installations to terrorist attack; (2) develop construction standards designed to reduce such vulnerability; (3) prepare and carry out military construction projects, such as gate and fenceline construction, to improve the physical security of such installations; and (4) assist in prioritizing such projects within the military construction budget of that department. Requires: (1) vulnerability assessments to be conducted at regular intervals; and (2) the Secretary to include certain information with respect to such assessments within annual DOD budget justification materials submitted to Congress.
(Sec. 2803) Decreases from $10 million to $7.5 million the threshold at which congressional notification is required for the use of O&M funds for military facility repairs.
(Sec. 2804) Directs the Secretary, within annual DOD budget justification materials submitted to Congress, to include information regarding military family housing requirements in the National Capital Region for general and flag officers. Requires a related report containing a worldwide inventory of housing units for such officers and identifying annual expenditures for each unit for O&M, utilities, and repairs for each of FY 2000 through 2004.
(Sec. 2805) Decreases from 21 to 14 days, if provided in an electronic format, the required prior congressional notification of deviations from authorized cost variations for military construction and family housing projects.
(Sec. 2806) Repeals on October 1, 2005, the $850 million annual limitation on the use of alternative DOD budget authority for the acquisition or construction of military family housing.
(Sec. 2807) Authorizes the Secretary, with respect to the defense agencies, and the Secretary concerned with respect to the military departments, through FY 2008, to accelerate design efforts for military construction projects using design-build (two-phase) selection procedures. Directs the Secretary to report to the defense and appropriations committees on the usefulness of such authority in expediting the design and construction of such projects.
(Sec. 2808) Authorizes the Secretary to convey an existing reserve facility by exchange (current law) or sale for the purpose of acquiring a replacement facility.
(Sec. 2809) Amends the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 to extend through FY 2005 the limited authority to use O&M funds for military construction projects outside the United States.
Subtitle B: Real Property and Facilities Administration - (Sec. 2811) Increases from $750,000 to $1.5 million the threshold at which the Secretary concerned must report to the defense committees certain real property transactions undertaken by that department.
(Sec. 2812) Consolidates and reorganizes existing provisions relating to DOD real property transactions.
(Sec. 2813) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to use up to 50 percent of the rentals received for the use of the golf course at Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, after FY 2004 for quality-of-life programs at that installation.
(Sec. 2814) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2002 to increase from 12 to 36 the number of authorized contracts per military department under a DOD demonstration program for the reduction in long-term facility maintenance costs.
(Sec. 2815) Repeals provisions of the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 2004 which establish the Commission on the Review of Overseas Military Facility Structure of the United States.
(Sec. 2816) Designates the Airmen Leadership School at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, as the John J. Rhodes Airmen Leadership School.
(Sec. 2817) Provides that if real property owned by the United States and used as a Navy homeport is subject to a reversionary interest of any kind, the Secretary of the Navy may enter into an agreement with the holder to acquire the reversionary interest with in-kind consideration, and thereby clear U.S. title to the property. Prohibits cash payments for the acquisition of such reversionary interests.
(Sec. 2818) Directs the Secretary of the Navy to report to Congress on progress made in the disposal of real property at the Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, California.
Subtitle C: Base Closure and Realignment - (Sec. 2821) Amends (throughout this subtitle) the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 to postpone until specified dates in 2007 (currently 2005) the dates for: (1) submission to Congress of base closure and realignment recommendations by the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission and the Secretary; and (2) presidential review of such recommendations and transmission to Congress of review results. Directs the Secretary, in the interim, to prepare and submit to the defense and appropriations committees specified reports related to infrastructure requirements for the Armed Forces.
(Sec. 2822) Establishes March 15 of the base closure round year as the final deadline for revision of the force structure plan or infrastructure inventory.
(Sec. 2823) Outlines the final selection criteria to be used by the Secretary in making recommendations for the closure or realignment of military installations inside the United States during the next base closure round, including: (1) current and future mission requirements and the impact on operational readiness of the total force of DOD; (2) the availability and condition of land, infrastructure, and associated air and water space at both existing and potential receiving locations; (3) the ability to accommodate contingency, mobilization, and future total force requirements at both existing and potential receiving locations; and (4) preservation of land, air, and water space, facilities, and infrastructure necessary to support training and operations of military forces determined by the Secretary to be surge (manpower) requirements. Requires the Secretary, in making recommendations for base closures or realignments, to give priority to the above criteria. Allows only such final selection criteria to be used in making recommendations for closures or realignments after December 31, 2003.
(Sec. 2824) Requires a unanimous vote by the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission in order to recommend the closure or realignment of an installation not recommended by the Secretary for closure or realignment.
(Sec. 2825) Requires any base closure or realignment action to strictly adhere to Federal provisions for the maintenance of Government-owned and operated depot-level maintenance, repair, and logistics capabilities within DOD.
Subtitle D: Land Conveyances - Part I: Army Conveyances - (Sec. 2831) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to convey to: (1) the Texas A&M University System of the State of Texas a portion of Fort Hood, Texas, for an upper level, State-supported university; and (2) the State of Washington a portion of the National Guard facility in Seattle, Washington, for economic development.
Part II: Navy Conveyances - (Sec. 2841) Directs the Secretary of the Navy, no later than January 1, 2005, to transfer to the Administrator of General Services the Nebraska Avenue Navy Complex in the District of Columbia to accommodate the Department of Homeland Security. Provides: (1) for the payment of relocation costs; and (2) authority for the relocation of naval activities currently carried out at the Complex.
(Sec. 2842) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to convey to: (1) the State of Illinois, a political subdivision of the State, or a nonprofit land conservation organization certain environmentally sensitive land at the former Fort Sheridan, Illinois, for the purpose of ensuring the permanent protection of such land; and (2) the State of Maryland a portion of the Naval Air Station, Patuxent River, Maryland, in exchange for a parcel of real property in Point Lookout State Park, Maryland.
Part III: Air Force Conveyances - (Sec. 2851) Authorizes the Secretary of the Air Force to convey to the city of Montgomery, Alabama, the Maxwell Heights Housing site at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, in exchange for real property contiguous to such Base.
Division C: Department of Energy National Security Authorizations and Other Authorizations - Title XXXI [sic]: Department of Energy National Security Programs - Subtitle A: National Security Programs Authorizations - (Sec. 3101) Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Energy (DOE) for FY 2005 for: (1) activities of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in carrying out programs necessary for national security, with specified allocations for weapons activities, defense nuclear nonproliferation activities, naval reactors, and the Office of the Administrator for Nuclear Security (Administrator); and (2) environmental restoration and waste management activities in carrying out national security programs, with specified allocations for defense environmental management, other defense activities, and defense nuclear waste disposal.
Subtitle B: Program Authorizations, Restrictions, and Limitations - (Sec. 3111) Amends the Atomic Energy Defense Act to extend through FY 2006 DOE authority for the appointment of certain scientific, engineering, and technical personnel.
(Sec. 3112) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2002 to provide that, after December 31, 2004, a project may be added to or removed from the Facilities and Infrastructure Recapitalization Program only after the Administrator submits to the defense and appropriations committees a notice that the Administrator has identified such project for addition or removal and has approved such addition or removal as a modification to the baseline for that Program. Prohibits the Administrator from obligating funds for such addition or removal until 60 days after such notice.
Subtitle C: Other Matters - (Sec. 3131) Amends the National Nuclear Security Administration Act to give the Administrator sole authority within DOE to submit to Congress or the appropriate congressional committees a notice of, or request for, a transfer or reprogramming of funds of the NNSA.
(Sec. 3132) Directs the Secretary of Energy (Secretary, for purposes of this Division) to enter into an arrangement with the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences to carry out a study of DOE plans to manage the waste streams at the Savannah River, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, and Hanford Reservation nuclear sites that are not currently planned for disposal in a high-level repository. Requires the Council to submit an interim and final report to the Secretary and the defense and appropriations committees. Provides funding from funds authorized by this title.
(Sec. 3133) Directs the Secretary to enter into a contract to conduct independent reviews and evaluations of the design, construction, and operations of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico as they relate to the protection of the public health and safety and the environment.
Title XXXII: Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board - (Sec. 3201) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.
Title XXXIII: National Defense Stockpile - (Sec. 3301) Authorizes the National Defense Stockpile (NDS) Manager, during FY 2005, to obligate up to $59.7 million of the funds in the National Defense Stockpile Transaction Fund (Fund) for authorized Fund uses, including the disposal of hazardous materials that are environmentally sensitive. Authorizes the NDS Manager to obligate amounts in excess of such amount 45 days after notifying Congress that extraordinary or emergency conditions necessitate the additional obligations.
(Sec. 3302) Amends the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2002 to authorize the Secretary of Defense, during FY 2005, to dispose of up to 100,000 (currently 50,000) short tons of high carbon manganese ferro from the NDS.
(Sec. 3303) Amends the Thurmond Act to authorize the Secretary of Defense to dispose of NDS materials so as to result in $785 million in receipts by the end of FY 2005 and $870 million in receipts by the end of FY 2009.
Title XXXIV: Naval Petroleum Reserves - (Sec. 3401) Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary for FY 2005 to carry out activities relating to the naval petroleum reserves.
Title XXXV: Maritime Administration - (Sec. 3501) Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Transportation for FY 2005 for the Maritime Administration for: (1) operation and training; (2) administrative expenses under the loan guarantee program authorized under the Merchant Marine Act, 1936; and (3) ship disposal.
(Sec. 3502) Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to extend through December 31, 2010, the authority of the Secretary of Transportation to purchase war risk insurance and reinsurance for merchant marine vessels.
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 - Authorizes appropriations for the Department of Defense (DOD) for FY 2005.
Authorizes appropriations to DOD for: (1) procurement, including for aircraft, missiles, weapons and tracked combat vehicles, ammunition, and shipbuilding and conversion; (2) research, development, test, and evaluation, including ballistic missile defense capabilities; (3) operation and maintenance, including for defense working capital funds, the Armed Forces Retirement Home, the Defense Health Program, and chemical agents and munitions destruction; and (4) active and reserve military personnel, including end strengths.
Extends certain bonus, special, and incentive pay authorities. Provides bonus repayment requirements with respect to unserved periods. Expands certain travel and transportation allowances.
Sets forth provisions or requirements concerning: (1) active and reserve military personnel policy, including revised promotion and duty requirements for joint officers, the extension of age limits for active-duty general and flag officers, and revised retirement rules for officers; (2) ROTC and the military service academies, including the establishment of a Board of Visitors at each academy; (3) acquisition policy and management, including defense acquisition workforce changes and the privatization of military utilities located on non-Federal lands; (4) DOD organization and management; (5) budget and financial matters; (6) the establishment of auxiliaries for military departments and a National Defense Heritage Foundation; (7) DOD civilian personnel policy, including a priority placement program for displaced civilian employees and pay parity with respect to certain DOD civilian personnel; and (8) matters relating to other nations, allies, and friendly foreign nations.
Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 - Authorizes the Secretaries of Defense and the military departments to acquire real property and carry out specified military construction projects. Authorizes appropriations for: (1) military construction, land acquisition, and military family housing functions; (2) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Security Investment Program; (3) chemical demilitarization construction; and (4) National Guard and reserve forces facilities.
Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to establish the Museum Center of the National Museum of the United States Army at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.