Committee on armed services press release, United States senate (Oct. 8, 2004): Senate and House complete conference on Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005.Senator John Warner (R-VA), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee The term Armed Services Committee could refer to:
"We remain a nation at war against terrorism, and we will win because of the extraordinary Americans who volunteer to serve the cause of peace and freedom. All Americans are in their debt, and they and their families deserve our unwavering support," said Warner. "I can think of no better way to honor the service and sacrifice of our servicemen and women and their families than to provide them with a higher level of pay and benefits and to give them the equipment they need to carry out their critical missions on behalf of our nation. I think it is particularly fitting that this bill is named after President Reagan," Warner added. "This bill improves the quality of life for our men and women in uniform, provides the equipment they need to perform their important and dangerous missions, and makes the investments we need to meet the challenges of the 21st century," said Levin. "I am especially pleased that this bill increases the active duty end strength of the Army and Marine Corps, and increases the benefits for our active duty, National Guard, and Reserve forces, and for their families," he added. CONFERENCE REPORT HIGHLIGHTS This conference report underscores the Committee's strong support for the men and women of the armed forces who are fighting so bravely in the global war on terrorism Terrorist acts and the threat of Terrorism have occupied the various law enforcement agencies in the U.S. government for many years. The Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, as amended by the usa patriot act . The conference report includes a 3.5 percent across-the-board increase in pay for all uniformed service personnel. It creates a new healthcare benefit for reservists by authorizing TRICARE coverage for Reserve members who served on extended active duty. It authorizes a permanent increase in special pay for duty subject to hostile fire In insurance law, a combustion that cannot be controlled, that escapes from where it was initially set and confined, or one that was not intended to exist. A hostile fire differs from a friendly fire, which burns in a place where it was intended to burn, such as one confined or imminent danger and for family separation allowances, and increases special pays for members of the National Guard and Reserve for enlistment and reenlistment. The conferees agreed to authorize a multiyear procurement for 100 new aerial refueling Aerial refueling, also called Air refueling or in-flight refueling (IFR) or air-to-air refueling (AAR) or (in the UK) tanking. Note that AAR also stands for "After Action Review" (de-briefing) and in aviation, IFR also stands for aircraft, while prohibiting the lease of KC-767A tanker aircraft
The conferees reached an agreement that will maintain the authority for the Department of Defense to conduct a round of base realignment and closure Base Realignment and Closure (or BRAC) is a process of the United States federal government directed at the administration and operation of the Armed Forces, used by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) and Congress to close excess military installations and realign in 2005. Warner stated, "This top Administration priority is absolutely essential and necessary for 2005, to allow the Department to evaluate its infrastructure and to make smart decisions to support a well-postured 21st century military. We must complete this crucial process over the next year in order to reduce aging [and] excess infrastructure, provide resources for the military where they need it the most, and provide investment and development opportunities for the local communities that so strongly support our military forces." In addition, the conferees: * Authorized a 3.5 percent across-the-board pay raise for all uniformed service personnel * Authorized increases in active-duty end strength of 20,000 for the Army and 3,000 for the Marine Corps * Authorized an increase in the Survivor Benefit Plan annuity that will be phased in over 3.5 years and, by 2008, eliminate the existing two tier system * Approved permanent eligibility for up to 90 days of TRICARE coverage for Reserve members and their families prior to mobilization, and 180 days of transitional health benefits for Reserves, active duty members, and their families when the member separates from active duty service * Authorized a new program of educational assistance to members of the Selected Reserve Those units and individuals within the Ready Reserve designated by their respective Services and approved by the Joint Chiefs of Staff as so essential to initial wartime missions that they have priority over all other Reserves. All Selected Reservists are in an active status. , providing varying amounts of aid depending on the length of time mobilized * Authorized immediate concurrent receipt, without phase-in, of military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation for retirees who are rated at 100 percent disabled * Included a provision that would expand criminal jurisdiction over federal employees and contractor personnel supporting the DoD mission overseas * Removed the existing funding limitations on the military housing privatization privatization: see nationalization. privatization Transfer of government services or assets to the private sector. State-owned assets may be sold to private owners, or statutory restrictions on competition between privately and publicly owned authorities, which will allow the military services to continue to partner with the private sector to provide the highest quality housing for military members and their families in the shortest amount of time * Authorized $10 billion for ballistic missile defense Missile defence is an air defence system, weapon program, or technology involved in the detection, tracking, interception and destruction of attacking missiles. Originally conceived as a defence against nuclear-armed ICBMs, its application has broadened to include shorter-ranged , and provided additional funding for the ground-based midcourse mid·course n. 1. The part of a missile flight between the end of the launching phase and reentry, during which corrective maneuvers are made. 2. The middle point of a course or of a course of action. missile defense segment. * Established new benefits under the Energy Employee Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act to compensate energy employees for illnesses resulting from exposure to toxic substances at a Department of Energy facility; the provision would direct the Department of Labor to administer this new benefit program, which is intended to provide a simple, fair, and uniform workers compensation system * Authorized an additional $572 million for additional up-armored variants of the High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle and $100 million for wheeled vehicle ballistic bolt-on armor * Authorized the secretary of defense to use up to $500 million in fiscal year 2005 to train and equip Iraqi and Afghani af·ghan·i n. pl. af·ghan·is See Table at currency. [Pashto afgh  n military and security forces, and up to $300 million in fiscal year 2005 for the Commanders' Emergency Response Program for small-scale humanitarian and reconstruction projects in Iraq and Afghanistan * Required the secretary of defense to prescribe policies to ensure the humane treatment of prisoners detained in armed conflict and to report to Congress * Authorized an additional $46.9 million to field an additional seven Weapons of Mass Destruction-Civil Support teams (WMD-CST WMD-CST Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team(s) ), for a total of 55 teams by the end of fiscal 05. A full summary of the bill is available at <http://armedservices.senate.gov/press.htm>. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion