Politics in Action: H.R. 4909 and H.R. 2577

 STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY

H.R. 4909 – National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017

(Rep. Thornberry, R-TX, and Rep. Smith, D-WA)

The Administration appreciates the House Armed Services Committee's continued support of our national defense and supports a number of provisions in H.R. 4909, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017.  However, the Administration strongly objects to many provisions in this bill that impede the Administration's ability to carry out the President's defense strategy.

H.R. 4909 fails to provide our troops with the resources they need to keep our Nation safe.  Instead of fully funding wartime operations such as INHERENT RESOLVE to defeat ISIL, the bill would redirect $18 billion of Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funds toward base budget programs that the Department of Defense (DOD) did not request, cutting off critical funding for wartime operations after April 30, 2017.  Not only is this approach dangerous, but it is also wasteful.  The bill would buy excess force structure without the money to sustain it, effectively creating hollow force structure that would undermine DOD's efforts to restore readiness.  Furthermore, the bill's funding approach attempts to unravel the dollar-for-dollar balance of defense and non-defense funding increases provided by the Bipartisan Budget Act (BBA) of 2015, threatening future steps needed to reverse over $100 billion of future sequestration cuts to DOD.  By gambling with warfighting funds, the bill risks the safety of our men and women fighting to keep America safe, undercuts stable planning and efficient use of taxpayer dollars, dispirits troops and their families, baffles our allies, and emboldens our enemies.

In addition, H.R. 4909 would impose other unneeded costs, constraining DOD's ability to balance military capability, capacity, and readiness.  The President's defense strategy depends on investing every dollar where it will have the greatest effect.  The Administration's FY 2017 proposals will accomplish this by continuing and expanding critical reforms that divest unneeded force structure, balance growth in compensation, modernize military health care, and reduce wasteful overhead.  The bill fails to adopt many of these reforms, including failing to authorize a new Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round. 

View the full report here.

Senate Amendment to H.R. 2577 – Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017

(Sen. Cochran, R-MS)

This Statement of Administration Policy provides views on the Senate Amendment to H.R. 2577, containing the text of the bills making appropriations for the Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2017, and for other purposes.

The Administration welcomes the bill's investments in military infrastructure, housing, services for men and women in our armed forces and their families, rental assistance for low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled, as well as its investments in programs that reduce lead-based paint hazards for low-income families with children.  The Administration also appreciates the Committee's commitment to fund the benefits and services our veterans have earned, help reduce the claims backlog, support medical and prosthetic research, and provide the requested advanced appropriations.  In addition, the Administration appreciates the bill's support of surface transportation priorities, including TIGER grants, Transit New Starts and Amtrak and passenger rail service.  Furthermore, the Administration welcomes the bill's support of the Federal Aviation Administration, including the Next Generation Air Transportation System initiative, as well as key functions in the Office of the Secretary initiated in the FAST ACT.   

However, the Administration is concerned that the bill underfunds critical investments in ending homelessness and revitalizing distressed communities, leaving over 40,000 chronically homeless individuals and homeless families with children unserved, and failing to address the widening opportunity gap confronting the Nation's poorest neighborhoods.  Additionally, the bill does not support the President's full vision for a 21^st Century Clean Transportation Plan that expands transportation options for American families, while reducing carbon emissions, cutting oil consumption, and creating new jobs.  Further, the Administration is concerned that the bill includes provisions that would undermine the safety of the Nation's highway system and includes unwarranted restrictions on the use of funds to construct, renovate, or expand any facility in the United States to house individuals held in the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, as these restrictions further impede the Executive Branch's efforts to responsibly close the facility. 

View the full report here. 

Source: Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget