On July 18, the Senate approved, 96-3, the FY2003 military construction appropriations bill (S. 2709). S. 2709 would allocate approximately $10.62 billion, a $957 million increase over the President’s request and $540 million more than the House-passed measure (H.R. 5011). H.R. 5011, approved by the House on June 27, would allocate approximately $10.1 billion.
The Senate-and House-passed measures 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. In FY2002, Congress allocated $4.1 billion for military family housing.
Additionally, S. 2709 would provide $25.73 million for child development centers, while the House-passed measure would provide $18 million. 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. Congress provided $43 million for child development centers in FY2002.
