Defense Authorization Bill Finally Signed

Army, Mar 2008

Following its Christmas recess, Congress approved a revised fiscal year 2008 National Defense Authorization Act; President Bush signed the $696 billion bill into law on January 28. The President refused to sign a previous bill because it contained a provision that exposed the Iraqi government to lawsuits from crimes committed during the regime of Saddam Hussein.

The defense act authorizes a 3.5 percent salary increase for troops; all pays and bonuses will be retroactive to January 1. The bill establishes a 120-day grace period for anyone who enlisted, reenlisted or signed a new service contract after December 31, 2007. Those individuals are eligible for the bonus as if the bonus authority had never lapsed. In addition, anyone who served in a combat zone from December 31, including troops who left the combat zone prior to the signing of the bill into law, is exempt from federal income tax on that payment. Separating disabled veterans are eligible for up to two years of both military and Veterans Affairs (VA) medical care; all combat veterans are eligible for up to five years of postservice VA medical care without having to prove a service-connected need.

Among other provisions of the bill are:

* Authorization for 13,000 new soldiers for the Army in fiscal year 2008.

* Increases in monthly hardship duty pay to a maximum of $1,500.

* Allocation of $2.9 billion to complete DoD's effort to eliminate inadequate domestic family housing and funding for elimination of inadequate overseas family housing by 2009.

* Authorization of $17.6 billion for additional mine resistant ambush protected vehicles.

* A Wounded Warrior section mandating, among other measures, that DoD and VA jointly develop a comprehensive policy on care and management of soldiers and that DoD establish standards for processing medical and disability evaluations.

* Reduction of the retirement start date of age 60 by three months for every 90 days served in support of a contingency operation for Army Reserve and National Guard deployments after the bill's enactment. Proponents of the change intended it to apply to all troops called up since 9/11, but budget constraints prevailed. The provision now leaves out some 600,000 members mobilized for Afghanistan, Iraq and national disasters such as Hurricane Katrina.

President Bush issued a signing statement asserting that he is not bound by four sections of the bill because they "impose requirements that could inhibit the President's ability to carry out his constitutional obligations ..." Among the sections he might waive are:

* A provision to set up a committee to investigate fraud, waste and abuse in contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

* A provision barring federal funding for installations or bases that would offer "permanent stationing" of U.S. troops in Iraq or for any action that exercises U.S. control over Iraq's oil resources.

Congress has still not approved $102 billion in funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that President Bush requested last year; the Pentagon has received $86.7 billion.

2009 Defense Budget. President Bush sent a $515.4 billion DoD base budget for fiscal year (FY) 2009 to Congress in February. The figure represents a 7.5 percent increase of $35.9 billion from FY 2008. Some $140.7 billion of the funds are for the Army. The budget includes $15.5 billion to add 7,000 soldiers-which would increase active Army end strength to 532,400-and allocates $10.7 billion to training, recruiting and retention.

DoD has requested $158.3 billion, an increase of 10.4 percent, to maintain operations at a level consistent with that of FY 2008. The budget includes $183.8 billion for modernization to meet future threats, a figure that includes procurement and research and development. The budget allots $149.4 billion for military pay (including a 3.4 percent increase), health care, housing and quality of life for servicemembers and their families.

Currently, supplemental war funding remains outside the Pentagon budget. DoD requested an additional $70 billion as emergency spending to cover operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for the first quarter of FY 2009. In testimony on the budget before the House Armed Services Committee, secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates said he could not provide a realistic estimate of the cost of the wars for FY 2009. He said that must wait until commanders recommend troop levels later this year. At the same time, he urged Congress to approve the $102 billion remaining warfighting funds requested in the FY 2008 supplemental request.

National Guard Empowered. Part of the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act elevates the chief of the National Guard Bureau from the rank of lieutenant general to that of general and increases the duties of the position. The chief will be the principal adviser on Guard issues; the bureau also becomes a joint activity of the Department of Defense.

The bureau will coordinate with state and federal agencies and military commanders on operations, budgets and personnel on behalf of DoD.