After two days of debate, the House approved, 391-34, the FY2005 defense authorization bill (H.R. 4200) on May 20. The Senate debated its version of the authorization bill (S. 2400) this week, but has postponed the final vote until after the Memorial Day recess.
House Action
H.R. 4200 would authorize $422.2 billion for defense programs in FY2005, a $20.9 billion increase over FY2004. The measure also provides an additional $25 billion in emergency budget authority to partially cover the projected costs of continuing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Under the bill, $992.2 million would be provided for the construction and improvement of military family housing, the same level as the administration’s request. In FY2004, Congress allocated $1.1 billion. The measure would allocate $26 million for child development centers, $15 million more than the administration’s request. Last year, Congress allocated $16.5 million. As requested by the administration, $72.2 million would be provided for the construction and improvement of classroom and education facilities for the children of military personnel.
H.R. 4200 would authorize a permanent increase in the rate of the family separation allowance from $100 per month to $250 per month. The bill also would authorize a three-year demonstration project to allow members of the reserve and their families to participate in TRICARE, the military’s health program.
The measure would require the secretary of defense to provide, by March 1, 2005, a proposal for changes regarding sexual offenses in the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
The bill also would expand the mission of the Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the military service academies. Under its new name, the “Defense Task Force on Sexual Assault in the Military Services” would examine sexual assaults in the military and report to Congress on its findings and recommendations.
H.R. 4200 maintains current law, under which the Department of Defense covers abortions in domestic and overseas military facilities only in cases where the life of the pregnant woman is endangered. In cases of rape and incest, women must prove that they have been the victim of rape or incest. If they can prove this, they may obtain abortion services with their own funds. Servicewomen who are seeking abortion services under other circumstances must pay for those services at a non-military facility.
During consideration of the bill, Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO) offered an amendment on behalf of the co-chairs and vice-chairs of the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues that would require the secretary of defense to develop a comprehensive policy for the prevention of and response to sexual assaults involving members of the Armed Forces, based on the recommendations of the task force. The amendment also would the require the Department of Defense to take “common sense” measures to address sexual assaults in the military, such as reporting on improvements in the department’s capability to respond to sexual assaults, the application of the comprehensive policy to the military departments, the modification of policies and procedures of military departments, annual assessment of policies and procedures, and annual reports to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees. The amendment was adopted, 410-0.
Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) stated, “Americans are concerned about the welfare of the men and women we send to defend our country. The American people understand that war is violent. What the American people will not tolerate is the assault or rape of a female soldier. Simply put, this is unacceptable.” She added, “It needs to be made perfectly clear that it is unacceptable to sexually assault a female soldier; and if you choose to make that mistake, you will be held accountable for your actions, no matter who you are, what your rank is, or what condition you serve under.”
Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) agreed. “120 women have already come back from Iraq saying they have been sexually assaulted by their fellow soldiers. Only 20 of them reported it in the military because they felt it would end their career. We want to change this attitude and this culture.”
The House approved, 416-4, an amendment by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) that would express the sense of Congress that the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison is offensive and that the majority of U.S. personnel have performed admirably.
The House defeated, 202-221, an amendment by Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA) that would have allowed women to obtain abortion services with their own funds at overseas military facilities.
Speaking in support of the Davis amendment, Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) stated, “Military women should be able to depend on their base hospitals for all of their health care needs. A repeal of the current ban on privately funded abortions would allow military women and dependents based overseas the same range and quality of medical care available to women in the United States. No Federal funds would be used to perform these procedures and no undue burden is placed on military physicians overseas.”
Rep. Jo Ann Davis (R-VA) disagreed. “Supporters of this amendment claim that taxpayer dollars would not actually pay for abortions. However, I want to point out that this is simply not true. Taxpayers would be paying for these abortions by subsidizing the cost of the physician services and the abortion equipment. Our current law protects against this, and I urge my colleagues to keep this commonsense policy intact.”
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) offered a motion to recommit that would have expressed the sense of the House that a select committee should be established to investigate the treatment of detainees in the global war on terrorism, including allegations of abuse of Iraqi prisoners. The motion was rejected, 202-224.
Senate Action
S. 2400 would authorize $422.2 billion for defense programs in FY2005, the same level as the House bill.
The measure would authorize a permanent increase in the rate of the family separation allowance from $100 per month to $250 per month. The bill also would authorize a new TRICARE Reserve Select benefit that would allow members of the reserves and their families to participate in TRICARE, the military’s health care program.
S. 2400 would require the secretary of defense to promulgate, by January 1, 2005, a uniform Department of Defense policy for the prevention of and response to sexual assaults involving members of the Armed Forces. The secretaries of the military departments also would be required to prescribe programs throughout each service designated for victim advocacy and intervention, both at home and in deployed locations. Uniform training, reporting, and disciplinary procedures would be required for each military department, as well as an annual assessment of the effectiveness of the service’s policies to prevent and respond to sexual assault and violence. The bill also would require the secretary to submit an annual report to Congress on the number of sexual assaults, rapes, and other sexual offenses involving military personnel, the number of cases substantiated, a synopsis of disciplinary action taken in substantiated cases, and policies and programs implemented by the secretary to prevent and respond to sexual assault and violence.
The Senate Armed Services Committee report accompanying the bill states, “The committee recognizes that incidents of sexual assault require competent responses from law enforcement, medical, legal, and victim advocate personnel. Superiors and peers in the chain of command must be informed and trained [on] how to respond to incidents of sexual assaults. Officers in command must be prepared, and supported, with necessary resources to enable them to take appropriate measures to ensure that victims’ needs are addressed, accused’s rights under the Uniform Code of Military Justice are protected, and that cases are timely investigated and resolved. The committee reiterates its views that a ‘zero tolerance’ policy is the only appropriate standard for services to adopt with respect to incidents of sexual assault.”
S. 2400 would authorize a five-year extension of the pilot mentor-protege program. The program “provides incentives to major defense contractors to assist small disadvantaged businesses, women-owned businesses, and qualified organizations employing the severely disabled to enhance their capabilities as contractors on Department of Defense contracts.”
The measure also would authorize a five-year extension of the test program for negotiation of comprehensive small business subcontracting plans. Under the test program, “prime contractors may submit a plan designed to provide maximum subcontracting opportunity for small, disadvantaged, and women-owned small business concerns that covers all anticipated contracts on a plant, division, or corporate basis, rather than for each Federal contract and subcontract of $500,000 or more.”
