Senate passes $94.3 billion appropriations bill...

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CQ TODAY – APPROPRIATIONS: MILITARY CONSTRUCTION-VANov. 14, 2006 – 9:34 p.m.

Military Construction-VA Appropriations: Senate Includes Iraq Inspector General Provision in BillBy Patrick Yoest, CQ Staff

The Senate on Tuesday passed a $94.3 billion appropriations bill for veterans and military construction that includes an amendment that would extend the authorization for an inspector general overseeing how Iraq reconstruction money is spent.

The bill (HR 5385) passed by voice vote following a lengthy delay over the proposed addition of drought relief funding. The bill would provide $16.3 billion for military construction and family housing projects and $77.9 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Another $143 million would cover veterans’ spending at other agencies.

The White House Office of Management and Budget issued a statement Tuesday that criticized the military construction bill’s hefty amount of earmarks — 62 — in the version of the bill reported out of the Senate Appropriations Committee, totaling nearly $600 million.

In May, the administration complained that the House-passed version of the bill contained a half-billion dollars in earmarks for 66 unrequested projects.Despite the criticism, the Senate bill gathered additional earmarks Tuesday night. Among the amendments adopted: a proposal by Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, to set aside $7.5 million for Army housing in Alaska; an amendment by John Thune, R-S.D., to set aside $750,000 in funding for the Air Force Financial Management Center at the Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota; and one introduced by Jack Reed, D-R.I., that would set aside $3.4 billion for the construction of a Navy vehicle bridge in Newport, R.I.

Iraq Inspector GeneralThe Senate adopted an amendment by unanimous consent to extend authorization for the inspector general until 10 months after 80 percent of Iraq reconstruction money is spent, rather than Oct. 1, 2007. The recently signed fiscal 2007 defense authorization bill (PL 109-364) contained the 2007 deadline.

Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who sponsored the amendment to the Military Construction-VA bill, and Joseph I. Lieberman, D-Conn., said the provision originated in the House.

"We checked after this became public, and I don’t believe that the leaders of the committee on the Senate side or their staff knew it was in there," Lieberman said at a news conference Tuesday. "Best I can determine, it was put in by House staff."

House Armed Services Chairman Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., insists that the provision was agreed to by both House and Senate conferees prior to the defense authorization bill’s passage.

Collins introduced the amendment language as a stand-alone bill (S 4046), which the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will mark up Thursday.

Base Closure FundsOverall, the spending bill would provide $434 million less than President Bush’s overall request. The Senate measure would provide $5.2 billion for the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure account — far less than the administration’s request.

In its statement of administration policy, the White House opposed the reduction, saying it would cost the Pentagon more money over the long term and hurt communities trying to deflect the economic pain of base closures.

An amendment introduced by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, who chairs the Military Construction and Veterans’ Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, added $25.4 million to the 2005 account. But the bill is still $364 million short of the administration request for the 2005 account.

The House-passed version of the legislation would provide slightly more than the Senate’s, but $316 million less than Bush requested.

The $136.1 billion House bill includes programs, such as the Defense Health Program for active-duty personnel, that are not contained in the Senate bill because of jurisdictional differences in the two chambers’ appropriations subcommittees. The House bill also includes basic housing allowances and environmental restoration spending.

According to James T. Walsh, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Military Quality of Life and Veterans’ Affairs Appropriations panel, a conference on the bill is not expected to occur before December. He indicated that the House and Senate bills would not be difficult to reconcile, but he noted that the Senate bill contains more military earmarks.

The Senate also adopted an amendment Tuesday by John Kerry, D-Mass., to make $18 million within the bill available for mental health services at veterans’ readjustment centers, and one by Daniel K. Akaka, D-Hawaii, to shift $2.5 million in military construction funding to VA inspector general’s office.