On May 22, the House approved, 361-68, the FY2004 defense authorization bill (H.R. 1588). The same day, the Senate approved its version of the bill (S. 1050) by a vote of 98-1. Both H.R. 1588 and S. 1050 would authorize $400.5 billion in military spending for FY2004, $17.9 million more than last year’s allocation.
Under the House-passed measure, $775.6 million would be provided for the construction and improvement of military family housing units in FY2004, the same amount requested by the President. In FY2003, Congress allocated $676.7 million. Additionally, H.R. 1588 would allocate $20.3 million for child development centers, $16.7 million more than the President’s request.
The Senate-passed bill would provide approximately $15 million for child development centers. The funding will enable the operation of an additional four centers. Last year, Congress allocated $17.6 million.
Both bills would require the Secretary of Defense to establish a civilian and military task force to address sexual harassment and violence at the U.S. Military and Naval Academies. The task force would be required to report their findings to the Secretary along with recommendations to improve efforts to reduce harassment. These efforts would include victim’s safety programs, offender accountability, sexual harassment prevention, and standard guidelines for training personnel at the academies.
In an effort to eliminate domestic violence in the military, the House-passed bill would require that travel and transportation allowances be made for dependents who are victims of domestic violence and are relocating for personal safety, and transitional compensation be made to victims for three years after the sentencing of a domestic violence offender. Additionally, the Secretary of Defense would be asked to conduct multidisciplinary fatality reviews for each domestic violence or child fatality.
The Senate-passed bill would require the Secretary of Defense to prescribe a policy concerning the concurrent deployment to a combat zone of both spouses of a military family with one or more minor children.
Lawmakers rejected an amendment, offered by Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) in the House and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) in the Senate, that would have allowed U.S. servicewomen who are stationed abroad to use their own funds for abortion services at U.S. military bases overseas. The amendment failed, 201-227, in the House and was rejected, 48-51 in the Senate.
Under current law, the Department of Defense (DoD) covers abortions in domestic and 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, then 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.
The House approved, by voice vote, an amendment offered by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) that would require the Secretary of Defense to commission a study on the use of small businesses, minority-owned businesses, and women-owned businesses in the U.S. efforts to rebuild Iraq and to develop outreach procedures to provide these businesses with information on participation in the Iraqi rebuilding process.
Additionally, the Senate approved, by voice vote, an amendment offered by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) that would restrict the bundling of Department of Defense contract requirements that unreasonably disadvantage small businesses.
