Resolutions committee seeks input from members

Sea Power, Apr 1997 by Mary I Nolan

Resolutions Committee Chairman Lou Kriser has anounced that the committee will meet at Navy League headquarters in Arlington, Va., in early April for discussions with sea-service officials on topics to be addressed in the 1997-98 NLUS national resolutions.

"The meetings with the sea-service representatives, and the briefing materials provided, including posture testimony, are designed to give the committee the background information it needs to prepare the resolutions in draft form for presentation at the League's 1997 national convention [in Boston, Mass., 25-29 June]," Kriser said.

The sea-service briefings "provide vital information to help the committee in its discussions," said Kriser. "But we also need input from Navy League members at large," he said, "on what they believe are the key national defense and sea-service issues that should be addressed in the League's resolutions."

The 1996-97 resolutions, adopted last June at the NLUS National Convention in Honolulu, reflected members' concems about such major defense issues as force modernization, research and development, quality-of-life programs for sea-service personnel and their families, and the threat of terrorism.

It seems "virtually assured," Kriser said, that the fiscal year 1998 defense budget and the administration's long-term defense strategy will receive particularly close scrutiny from the committee. The FY 1998 budget plan sent by President Clinton to Congress in early February (see related article beginning on page 49) once again: (a) falls far short of what senior Congressional leaders such as House National Security Committee Chairman Floyd Spence and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Strom Thurmond say is needed if the nation's armed services are to be able to carry out all of their worldwide missions; (b) seriously underfunds the procurement and RDT&E (research, development, test, and evaluation) accounts considered the key to mid- and longterm readiness, respectively; and (c) would not, according to the Congressional Budget Office, pay for the BUR (BottomUp Review) force that the administration itself says is needed to carry out its "two-MRC" strategy.

The committee seems likely to recommend additional funding for the Coast Guard as well. A high percentage of the USCG's physical inventory of ships, aircraft, boats, and shore facilities will require replacement in the next 10 years. Economic replacement would require annual AC&I (acquisition, construction, and improvements) funding of at least $1.1 billion annually for the next 15 years, according to USCG budget data provided to Congress earlier this year. The Coast Guard Reserve also is underfunded in the FY 1998 and outyears budget plan.

Following are brief summaries of some of the other defense and national security issues already on the committee's agenda and/or likely to be proposed as possible topics for the 1996-97 resolutions:

National Missile Defense: The administration has requested significant additional funding for the TBMD (theater ballistic missile defense) program that the Joint Chiefs of Staff say is essential to protect U.S. and allied forces on the (land and sea) battlefield of the future. Many members of Congress, led by Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, say that additional funding also is needed for a true NMD (national missile defense) system capable of protecting the United States itself from a surprise missile attack. That need has grown exponentially in recent years, these members say, thanks to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and high-tech delivery systems throughout the world.

The QDR and NDP Reports: A Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) task force appointed to review, and submit recommendations concerning, U.S. defense policies, the administration's overall national security strategy, and DOD (Department of Defense) budget priorities is scheduled to submit its first report by 15 May. A separate nine-member National Defense Panel (NDP) appointed to make an independent assessment of the QDR findings and recommendations is scheduled to submit its report to Congress on 15 December. There already are concerns, though, that one or both panels will adjust their recommendations to fit within predetermined budget ceilings and/or to ensure that, despite numerous changes in the global naval/military environment, each of the nation's armed services continues to receive its traditional "fair share" of future budget allocations. The U.S.-Flag Merchant Marine: The Maritime Security Program (MSP) passed by Congress last year and signed into law by President Clinton has been hailed throughout the U.S. maritime community as one of the most important and forward-looking legislative measures enacted in the entire postWWII era. Many MSP supporters also say, though, that passage of the MSP bill should be considered as just the first step toward the longer-term program needed, for economic as well as national security purposes, to revitalize the U.S.flag merchant fleet.