Dave Hobson

Mr. HOBSON

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, I call up the conference report to accompany the bill (H.R. 2904) making appropriations for military construction, family housing, and base realignment and closure for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2002, and for other purposes, and ask unanimous consent for its immediate consideration in the House without intervention of any point of order.

Mr. HOBSON. I want to go down there and cut the ribbon on this one, I can assure the gentleman of that.

Mr. HOBSON. If I may respond, if the gentleman will continue to yield, first of all, I want my colleagues to know that I feel very badly about this because I have been to Hinesville and I have been involved in this project. I want to see this project succeed. This is a new type of situation that we really have not done before in the military, and that is one of the reasons I wanted to do it. This helps the community, it helps the Army, and I think it helps the mortgage holder of these properties to get out of the property at a better way than they could have before. This is also new for the community to do a project in this way. We thought we had it done. And I want to be very frank, I thought it was done. We put it into our bill. We got into conference where these things are checked again, and we found there were a couple of procedural problems which the gentleman alluded to or mentioned there that were raised. It became a situation where we cannot overcome that in this conference at this time and get the authorization and the other things necessary to get it done. But I want to make a commitment that I am going to do everything I can to make sure that this project gets done because I think this is a good model. If we can get this done, this is not just good for Hinesville, but this is a good model that we can use elsewhere in the country. So it is very important that we do it correctly. I want to assure the gentleman's constituents that the gentleman was very diligent on this. My colleague's staff was very diligent on this. This is just something that came up at the last moment.

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. HOBSON. First of all, I would like to thank our staffs for working on the bill. I think they both did a great job, all the staff. I particularly want to thank Tom McNamara, who is the detailee from the Air Force. He has been particularly good and helped with the subcommittee staff, and we are going to miss him. I do not know if we can get him back next year, but we are sure going to try because he did a good job in facilitating this bill. I think it is a good bill. I have a good partner in my ranking member. With that, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.

Mr. HOBSON. If the gentleman would yield further, I would like to make two other comments.

Mr. HOBSON. I can make the gentleman from Georgia this assurance. I will make sure all the T's are crossed and the I's are dotted because I think this is a good model.

Mr. HOBSON. If we can get the things done that are necessary to make it so, we can put it in a supplemental. We will certainly attempt to do that. I am sure the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Olver) will also be interested in doing that. But we have to get the things technically worked out to get it done because this is a good model, I think, for elsewhere in the country and it is important that we do it correctly and I think we want to do it correctly.

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, as the manager of this conference agreement, I do not intend to use any of the hour on general debate; however, I would like to have the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston) recognized.

Mr. HOBSON

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the conference report to accompany H.R. 2904, and that I may include tabular and extraneous material.

Mr. HOBSON

Mr. HOBSON. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the managers on the part of the House have until midnight, October 16, 2001, to file a conference report on the bill (H.R. 2904) making appropriations for military construction, family housing, and base realignment and closure for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2002, and for other purposes.

Mr. HOBSON

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 2904) making appropriations for military construction, family housing, and base realignment and closure for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2002, and for other purposes, with a Senate amendment thereto, disagree to the Senate amendment, and agree to the conference asked by the Senate.

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my ranking member for working with me on this bill, and working with me and the other members of the Committee on this issue. We have seen what we ask our troops to do. We have asked them to do a lot of things for us, especially at this time. Today, the U.S. is blessed with the most well-trained military forces in our history. Soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen are ready and willing to accept any challenge presented by our adversaries. Yet, for all their training, many of these facilities they work in are decrepit and falling apart. There is an increasing concern that the performance of our troops could be jeopardized by the conditions of the buildings in which they work. As the Quadrennial Defense Review points out, the defense infrastructure has suffered from underfunding and neglect. Facility sustainment has been funded at only 75 to 80 percent of the requirement, resulting in a backlog of repair bills estimated at almost $60 billion. Likewise, the average rate of replacing existing facilities is 192 years, at a rate that is unacceptable, particularly with the technological changes needed to deal with today's security threats. The result of neglecting the facilities is the decaying infrastructure that is less and less capable of supporting our troops, sailors, Marines, and airmen. The infrastructure needs of the facilities in the U.S. are important, but no less important than the infrastructure needs in bases located overseas. Like bases in the U.S., there are antiterrorism and force protection measures we must take at all bases overseas. Similarly, housing must be decent, safe, and working conditions must not jeopardize the troops' performance. One of the things that happened in our committee, for the first time that I can remember, is that three of the CINCs, General Ralston, General Blair, and General Schwartz, all came in and testified that overseas MILCON, and especially housing, was their number one priority on their list of priorities for their troops. This is a time when we ask young people to go out and put their lives on the line. They should do that, and they will do that, with great honor and dignity for this country. This country owes them the same dignity in the places where they work every day and where they live. So I want to thank my ranking member for putting up this motion, and I hope every Member of this House supports this motion.

Mr. HOBSON

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent that the bill, through page 21, line 13, be considered as read, printed in the Record, and open to amendment at any point.

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Chairman, if the gentleman will yield, it is my opinion they do, as it is our intent. I am very sensitive to this. I happen to be pursuing a similar Buy American situation in another bill right now, which I plan to talk to the gentleman about at a later time. Mr. Chairman, I want the gentleman to know I am very sympathetic to that provision.

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I have no further requests for time, but I would like to do two things before I ask my ranking member if he has any additional speakers. First of all, I would like to thank Kenny Kraft of my personal staff who has worked on the Hill for over 20 years. He worked on appropriations for many, many years. He has been very helpful to me as we put this bill together, along with the staff of the committee. Kenny has been very loyal to our staff, and I very much appreciate that. Also, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young), the chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, feels very strongly about our military and about the military preparedness of our troops. He had hoped to be here this morning; he wanted to speak on this bill, but he has been requested to be in a conference discussing other bills that are before the Committee on Appropriations; and, therefore, he was not able to be here. But both the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) and his wife, Beverly, have traveled extensively and have a very strong feeling for our troops and the quality of life of our troops. I want to thank them for their support. I know that the gentleman, if he were here, would be much more eloquent on this, but he has done a great job for us; and I just want to say that I am sorry he is not here this morning, because I know he wanted to do that. Mr. Chairman, I have no further requests for time, and I would ask my ranking member if he has any further requests for time.

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Traficant) for a colloquy.

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, before I present the subcommittee's recommendations, let me take a moment to address the events perpetrated on the United States last week. America has been hurt by these attacks, but we are far from defeated. We will care for our wounded and mourn for those who have lost their lives. We will repair the physical damage to our institutions and seek out those who are responsible. We will have justice. We will stand together, and we will emerge from this catastrophe stronger than before. This subcommittee is committed to working with the Defense Department to ensure the necessary resources are available for reconstructing the Pentagon and improving the anti-terrorism and force protection measures of defense facilities at home and abroad. Let me assure the Members, the funding needed to rebuild the Pentagon will be made available from last week's $40 billion emergency spending measure; and it is my understanding that the Department is already moving ahead with the reconstruction effort from the first $10 billion provided to the President. Mr. Chairman, I would also like to point out that the portion of the Pentagon which was damaged in the attack on September recently received a thorough renovation. The safety improvements made as part of those renovations, including the Kevlar window protection and the new sprinkler system, have been credited with saving more lives from being lost in the attack. Although the renovation of the Pentagon was originally funded through the Subcommittee on Defense of the Committee on Appropriations and the Pentagon Renovation Revolving Fund, we fully expect the reconstruction of the destroyed wedge of the building to be funded through the military construction defense-wide appropriation. For now, the President has encouraged America to go back to work. This includes the Congress, and today we are moving forward with this needed legislation to improve the quality of life for our military personnel. This legislation also includes numerous infrastructure and security improvements at bases across the country. These are desperately needed by our military forces. Force protection requirements are addressed in every new building or major renovation, and we will continue to work with the Department to ensure these requirements are current and met. Therefore, it is my pleasure to present to the House the recommendations of the military construction appropriations bill for fiscal year 2002. I would particularly like to thank the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Olver), my ranking member, and other members of the subcommittee for their help in producing a bipartisan recommendation. The bill presented to the House today totals $10.5 billion. This represents a $1.56 billion, or 17 percent increase, from last year's appropriation. This appropriation amount is within the 302(b) allocation for both budget authority and outlays. The recommendations before the House are solid, fully funded priority projects for the services and our troops. The legislation helps meet the needs of our military families and improves our national security infrastructure. It is fiscally responsible, while supporting the housing, child care and medical needs of our military. Within the $10.5 billion, we have been able to address quality of life issues, including $1.2 billion for troop housing, $43 million for child development centers, $199 million for hospital and medical facilities, $1.1 billion for new family housing units and for improvements to existing units, and $2.9 billion for operating and maintenance of existing family housing units. In this bill, there is over $1.1 billion for overseas construction of family housing. This subcommittee has seen firsthand the conditions that our troops live and work in overseas, and we are appalled by what we have seen. This $1.1 billion only begins to buy down these requirements, but it will go a long way for the spirit and morale of our servicemen and women stationed overseas. We have worked closely with the authorizing committee; and I would like to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Saxton) and his staff for their help, particularly Phil Grone, a long-time staff member who is leaving to go down to the Defense Department. Also this year we have had a new clerk of our committee, Valerie Baldwin. Valerie and her staff have done a great job in her first year as clerk. I would also like to thank Tom Forhan of the minority staff. Tom has traveled with us as we have gone around. He has been very helpful in making sure that this is a bipartisan bill. Of course, I have to thank my ranking member. The gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Olver) has been a great Member. He has gone with us all over the world looking at facilities, making sure that the environment is protected, and where we are going for the future. He has done a terrific job in learning this job. This is not an easy job to learn, and he has done a great job at it. In conclusion, this $10.5 billion is roughly 3 percent of the total defense budget, but it directly supports the men and women in our Armed Forces. There are critical shortfalls in our defense infrastructure; and we believe this bill begins to address those shortfalls, in increasing productivity, readiness, recruitment and retention, all very vital at this most critical time in our national defense. Mr. Chairman, I include the following tabular material for the Record. [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH21SE01.001 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH21SE01.002 Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HOBSON

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that it be in order at any time for the Speaker, as though pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XVIII, to declare the House resolved into the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union for consideration of the bill (H.R. 2904) making appropriations for military construction, family housing, and base realignment and closure for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2002, and for other purposes, and that consideration of the bill proceed according to the following order. The first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. All points of order against the bill and against its consideration are waived. General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed 1 hour equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations. After general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the 5-minute rule. During consideration of the bill for amendment, the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole may accord priority in recognition on the basis of whether the Member offering an amendment has caused it to be printed in the portion of the Congressional Record designated for that purpose in clause 8 of rule XVIII, and amendments so printed shall be considered as read. At the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment, the Committee shall rise and report the bill to the House with such amendments as may have been adopted. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions.

Mr. HOBSON

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 2904, and that I may include tabular and extraneous material.

Mr. HOBSON

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to denonunce the savage, senseless and cowardly attacks upon our citizens, our property and two of our most endearing symbols of national strength in yesterday's terrorist attacks on Washington, New York City and our nation's passenger airlines. We have lived for years under the threat of terrorism and have thwarted several significant plots. We have invested a great amount of time and money to try and create an effective system of countermeasures. Unfortunately, we have now seen just how far some people will go to harm the United States and what we stand for. No political or religious agenda could ever justify the hideous atrocities committed yesterday, and America will have to respond appropriately to ensure that those who would use terror against this country are never again in the position to strike us. As an international hub of commerce, the World Trade Center contained the offices of individuals from around the world who have suffered as a result of this attack. For that reason, this was not only an attack on America, but on all the nations of the world that trade with us. The mood is somber here in Washington today, but we are here and our government is working. Because of our society and our freedoms, we are always going to be susceptible. This heinous act will undoubtedly gain a new urgency to reduce the risks we face from terrorism. It is also critical for our allies and the entire world community to speak in one voice and say ``Terrorism in any form is wrong, and it will no longer be tolerated anywhere in the world. America has been hurt by these attacks, but we are far from defeated. We will care for our wounded and we will mourn those who lost their lives. We will then repair the physical damage to our institutions and seek out those who have perpetrated this obscenity upon us. We will have justice and we will emerge from this catastrophe stronger than before. As Ohio's Seventh District Representative to the Congress of the United States, my thoughts and prayers are with those who have been affected by these attacks and their families. I would ask for all Americans to continue to pray for our nation in the difficult days ahead.

Mr. HOBSON

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Chairman, I would also like to join in thanking the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Ortiz) for bringing his testimony before the committee. I visited this hospital in Corpus Christi, along with a number of other members of my subcommittee, and I really believe that the available capacity at that hospital and certainly the need of the veterans in that area would lend itself to progress in this program that he wants to do in this area. I want to commend the Chairman for encouraging the VA to work with DOD at the possibility of establishing not only this project, but other similar programs, because I think it comes into the extension of quality, cost-effective care for our veterans around the country, and the gentleman's facility in Corpus Christi is a good place to demonstrate that program.

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this bill and want to compliment my good friend and Chairman Jim Walsh for his hard work in crafting this very important appropriations bill. With this bill, the chairman and our committee worked hard to make sure that the medical needs of our veterans are met, and that their claims are processed in a timely fashion. It ensures that safe and affordable housing is provided for the low income, the elderly, and the disabled. It provides funding to make the water we drink cleaner and the air we breathe healthier. I am proud to serve on this committee which addresses these priority issues. In addition to the $1 billion increase for veterans medical care, I want to point out a few other highlights: This bill provides the highest budget ever for the National Science Foundation at $4.8 billion. This is a 9 percent increase over last years level. Funding from NSF produces the in-depth research performed at almost every university across the country. Every single district benefits from this increase. This bill also fully funds the renewal of all expiring section 8 housing assistance contracts, and provides 34,000 new Section 8 vouchers. These vouchers will be distributed to those most in need, and for the first time every, a portion will be designated for the disabled. After almost a decade of being flat-lined, NASA is provided nearly $15 billion, including almost $7.6 billion for research and development. As the space station is now in successful orbit, I am pleased that this bill dedicates approximately $343 million to generate the unprecedented microgravity research the scientific community has been waiting for. To address our environmental needs, this bill provides $1.2 billion for Clean Water State Revolving Funds, which provide grants to our communities to assist their efforts in building modern and adequate wastewater facilities. This bill provides $2.25 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate responses to our national disasters. I am especially pleased that $404.6 million is designed for FEMA's core activities to make sure that we are prepared to properly mitigate the disasters which might strike. I would like to recognize not only the FEMA officials who are all to often called to respond, but also the state and local emergency management teams who will benefit from this funding. In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, I want to congratulate you and the staff again this year for crafting a well-balanced bill.