On June 27, the House approved the FY2003 military construction appropriations bill (H.R. 5011), 426-1, three days after the Appropriations Committee approved the bill by voice vote. H.R. 5011 would allocate approximately $10.1 billion, a $522 million decrease from the FY2002 appropriations bill (P.L. 107-64).
Under the House-passed measure, $4.2 billion would be allocated for military family housing, of which $1.3 billion would be allocated for new family housing units and improvements to existing units and $2.9 billion would be used for the operation and maintenance of existing units. Congress allocated $4.1 billion in FY2002 for military family housing.
In addition, H.R. 5011 would provide $18 million for new construction and improvements to existing child development centers. Currently, the Department of Defense runs more than 800 child development centers that are critical for single-parent families and spouses left behind during deployments. In FY2002, Congress provided $43 million for child development centers.
The same day that the House approved H.R. 5011, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved, by voice vote, its FY2003 military construction appropriations bill (as-yet-unnumbered). The Senate measure would allocate $10.62 billion, a $957 million increase over the President’s request and $540 million more than the House-passed measure.
The Senate measure would provide $4.23 billion for military family housing, with $1.33 billion going towards the construction of new family housing units and improvements to existing units and $2.9 billion for the operation and maintenance of existing units.
Additionally, the Senate Appropriations Committee allocated $25.73 million for child development centers.
The Senate is expected to consider the FY2003 military construction bill after the July 4th recess.
