SENATOR HUTCHISON DISCUSSES THE MILITARY CONSTRUCTION AND APPROPRIATIONS ACT

Let me first say it has been very helpful--it has been terrific--working with the Senator from Rhode Island. He was, as he said, substituted. This was thrown at him early this year. I know it is something he wanted to do because he has a great record serving in the military himself, but to step in for Senator Johnson because of his illness was a great thing that Senator Reed was able to do, and he has done a great job. I might add that his able staff has had a lot of experience on this bill and were also very helpful. Tina Evans, B.G. Wright, and Chad Schulken have been subcommittee staff members for a long time--longer than any of us, I might say--and it has been very helpful to have that knowledge and experience working with us. Of course, my own staff, Dennis Balkham, Christine Heggem, Yvonne Stone, and Sean Knowles have also contributed greatly to this complicated bill. It is a big bill that affects all our veterans and our military personnel because we do deal with military construction as well as veterans affairs.

This bill, I think, balances all the needs that are necessary very well. We have to take into account, of course, the Active-Duty servicemembers in making sure they have the military construction they need to do the job we are asking them to do. The Guard and Reserve, which I will mention later, is well funded in this bill, and it is something we must do because they are carrying such a huge burden in the war against terror. Local communities, family members of servicemembers, and taxpayers all have a part in balancing any appropriations bill and especially this one.

This bill does address the infrastructure requirements as well as health care and benefits of our veterans. We hope to move it expeditiously across the floor today, I think because Senator Reed and I have worked so well on the bill that we have solved most of the issues that have come forward, and I believe we have done a good job in funding everything that was necessary.

Let me mention a couple of the main points. This subcommittee, with Senator Feinstein and myself, were instrumental in the rebasing effort that has occurred in the Department of Defense. We are bringing back 70,000 of our troops from overseas to be able to train in the United States. This was part of an overseas basing commission bill that Senator Feinstein and I cosponsored that was adopted by Congress and results in 70,000 troops coming back--mainly from Germany and South Korea.

That also has had an impact on military construction because we found when we went overseas that there were training constraints in the bases overseas. We had capacity in America for better training and better opportunities for families. So in this bill we had to address the needs of the military construction for those troops that will be moving back home over the next 5 to 6 years.

In addition, Congress has the responsibility to fund the BRAC. We have a time limit for the Department of Defense to implement BRAC. That requires building not only in the places where troops will be moving in and facilities that will be needed for additions to bases, but also to take care of the needs of bases that are going to be closed. We did fully fund BRAC, and I am pleased that we did. It was our responsibility to do it because we put a deadline on the Department of Defense for the implementation of BRAC. We certainly have to do the required construction in order to meet the deadline.

Army modularity: We are changing the concept. There are smaller fighting units now. We have accommodated that modularity effort through our military construction efforts. Of course, in the global war on terror, which is the major overlying conflict that is going on today with our military personnel, we certainly have to meet the needs of those who are being trained and are going to be deployed in the war on terror, and we have to take care of their families.

The military construction section of the bill provides over $21 billion for construction projects, and it is very strong. It is very important in our transformation effort that we have increased the end strength of the military, as well as changed the types of fighting units that we will have in the military. So that has also provided requirements for different military construction. We are doing exactly what we should be doing in the bill, and we worked very closely with the authorization committee to assure that their priorities and our priorities were the same.

I am very pleased that we also have addressed the needs of the Guard and Reserve. I have to say--and I think everybody who knows the subject would agree--that the funding needs of the Guard and Reserve have not been well represented in the Department of Defense budget submission in the past because of other high priorities for our defense dollars. But the Guard and Reserve are doing so much in the war on terror. They are being deployed and redeployed. We need to make sure they have the facilities and support they need to fulfill their very vital function in the war on terror.

The other part of this bill, which is a major responsibility, is, of course, the Department of Veterans Affairs. The veterans affairs portion of the bill has many good features. As we move forward in the process, I am committed to continuing to work with my colleagues to make sure that every dollar is spent wisely and efficiently to serve the needs of our veterans. We have expanded resources to treat the types of injuries and illnesses that our veterans are facing today. We are doing more in mental health and trying to help people with post-traumatic stress syndrome.

We are trying to make sure our facilities are kept up. We have a huge building program. Minor construction will be $751 million. Major construction will be $727 million. It is going to be a major effort to make sure these facilities are cutting edge.

Severe trauma and brain injury is another area we are addressing more fully in this bill than we ever have before. Also, research into prosthetics and the use of artificial limbs is another important focus because we know more of our young soldiers are losing limbs, and we need to make sure we are doing the very best for them to be able to lead normal lives.

We are doing more research into gulf war illness and, as well, geriatric care for the older veterans. These are critical needs. We will never quit looking for answers, and this fully funds the research for the areas in which we need to do more and better for our veterans.

We must continue to adapt to the types of injuries that our warriors experience in the different theaters in which they serve. We must also prepare for future weapons, such as chemical and biological, that may be used against our soldiers.

Mr. President, I think every Member of Congress shares in the desire to fairly compensate, medically treat, and honor the veterans who have sacrificed and borne the responsibility of military service. The VA provides health care free of charge to address any and all service-connected illnesses or disabilities, mental or physical, including those conditions which may manifest decades after military service.

The VA also provides health care free of charge to low-income veterans regardless of service-connected disability or illnesses. We always have--and always will--take care of our Nation's veterans.

In summary, this Congress has shown its resolve time and again to care for our men and women in uniform, as well as the more than 7 million veterans in America. We owe them our gratitude. We owe them what they deserve, and that is that we take care of their needs.

I appreciate working with Senator Reid. I appreciate that we have done everything we could with the dollars we had. I will just note that President Bush has said if the bill stays as it is now, he plans to sign it so that we can implement it quickly. But I do hope as we go through the conference process and finish the bill on the Senate floor that we will keep to the intention of the bill, that we will make sure we stay within the guidelines we have.

We have added $4 billion above the President's request already. That money is allocated, so there will be relatively few changes I think we should make if we are going to expeditiously send the bill to the President for his signature and assure that he will sign it.

Once again, I thank Senator Reid and his able staff for accommodating me and allowing me to make my statement. I look forward to getting this bill out tomorrow and on to the President very soon.

Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.
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