President signs Defense Authorization Act

Army, Jan 2003

In a ceremony at the Pentagon on December 2 President George W. Bush signed the 2003 National Defense Authorization Act which funds the military portion of the global war on terror and the continuing transformation of the military. The Authorization Act allows the Department of Defense to spend the money released in the 2003 National Defense Appropriations Act, signed by the President on October 23.

The President told the crowd, "We're rewarding the service and sacrifice of our military families with higher pay, improved facilities and better housing." He also detailed the progress made so far in the war against terror and the weapons inspections going on in Iraq.

The acts provide the following:

* An across-the-board 4.1 percent pay raise and targeted pay raises of up to 6.5 percent for midgrade officers and NCOs.

* An increase in basic allowance for housing to cut outof-pocket expenses to 7.5 percent, putting the program on track to eliminate servicemembers' out-of-pocket costs entirely by 2005.

* A redirecting of the $673 million earmarked for the cancelled Crusader advanced artillery system to six promising indirect fire program technologies.

* $376.3 million for Abrams tanks and $397 million for Bradley fighting vehicles for the Army.

* $910 million for the development of the Comanche helicopter; $788 million for the Stryker armored vehicle; and $759 million for research into the Army's Future Combat System.

* Enhanced special compensation for military retirees who have a qualifying combat-related disability and who received a Purple Heart for the injury or a service-connected disability of 60 percent or higher as a direct result of combat or training for combat.

* Expanded TRICARE Prime Remote coverage for dependents who remain in remote locations when they cannot accompany sponsors. Also, the requirements for TRICARE will become the same as Medicare.

* Full funding for an Army end strength of 480,000 and an increase of 400 students at each of the service academies beginning in the 2003-2004 school year.

* Creation of National Guard civil support teams in all states and territories to provide medical and technical advice in the event of a terrorist attack involving weapons of mass destruction.

Bill to Sponsor Iraqi Scientists. In an effort to gather more information on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-DE) introduced legislation to provide expedited processing for United States citizenship to qualified scientists, engineers and technicians who have worked on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction programs and who are willing to provide information about such programs. The bill, S.3079, allows for a qualified scientist to include his or her family and relatives in the program to avoid the threat of reprisals by the Iraqi regime. It caps the limit for entrance at 500 aliens.

The bill passed the Senate on November 20 and was referred to the House Judiciary Committee two days later.

Concern About Chemical Protection. Congress is concerned that equipment used to protect U.S. forces from a chemical attack is either inadequate or in short supply. In October, the House Democratic Caucus was briefed by the U.S. General Accounting Office and provided with testimony from the Defense Department Inspector General that 250,000 defective protection suits that had been delivered to commanders in the field could not be located or recalled because of flawed inventory controls. The caucus also received information that other equipment was in short supply and that training for possible biological and chemical attacks was at a questionable level.

On November 27, Rep. Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL) wrote a letter to Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld asking him to certify that troops being deployed against Iraq are provided with "equipment to protect against chemical and biological attacks in quantities sufficient to meet minimum required levels previously established by the Department of Defense." As we went to press, Rumsfeld had not yet responded to the letter.

There are concerns that Iraq will use chemical and biological weapons should a U.S.-led attack occur.