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Statement of Administration Policy: S. 2884 - National Defense Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1991

August 02, 1990

STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY

(Senate)
(Nunn (D) Georgia)

Although the Administration has several objections to S. 2884 as reported by the Senate Armed Services Committee, the bill would make a substantial positive contribution to our vital national defense needs within current fiscal constraints. The bill supports many of the Administration's initiatives to improve defense management and to provide for a smooth reduction in the size of our armed forces. The bill provides substantial resources for the B-2 stealth bomber, the Trident ballistic missile submarine, the Small Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, and the Peacekeeper/Rail Garrison Program.

If the final version of the bill that is presented to the President does not contain proper funding and flexibility to pursue the most promising technologies for the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), flexibility for the management of the drawdown of the armed forces, sufficient troop levels, proper funding of strategic modernization programs, and if it includes items not needed for the national defense, the Secretary of Defense would recommend that the President veto the bill.

The Administration urges the Senate to adopt the following amendments to correct the present shortcomings of the bill:

—  Restoration of funding requested by the Administration for the SDI, while refraining from earmarking how the funds must be spent within the program;

—  Restoration of funds for key programs necessary to keep critical military capabilities such as Milstar, the A-12 and C-17 aircraft, and the SSN-21 Seawolf submarine;

—  Elimination of programs that are either unneeded or unaffordable in light of more basic defense needs, including the costly V-22 Osprey aircraft, unnecessary National Guard and Reserve equipment, and Ml tank production and upgrades;

—  Deletion of provisions which legislate a large Reserve and National Guard infrastructure, even as the size of the total force and the national resources devoted to defense are reduced;

—  Deletion of the uniform strength reduction process which unduly restricts the Secretary of Defense's ability to manage the reductions effectively, and deletion of the end strength ceilings on the Department's civilian personnel;

—  Deletion of a provision expanding notification requirements for extremely sensitive programs;

—  Restoration of funding for the National Aerospace Plane;

—  Inclusion of alternative language proposed by the Administration regarding expansion of the Department of Labor's Transition Assistance Program, unemployment compensation of ex-service members, and continuation of health benefits for involuntarily separated personnel;

—  Deletion of provisions giving Defense authority to relinquish Federal interests in real property without regard to the provisions of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949;

—  Deletion of a requirement which would return to Defense the full proceeds from sales of real property reported excess by the agency; the Administration has submitted a proposal accomplishing a similar objective, but returning only 50 percent of the sales proceeds to the agencies;

—  Inclusion of the Administration's Base Closure proposal to permit submission to Congress at any time of base closures and realignments notifications;

—  Deletion of a provision that transfers some $300 million from the Atomic Energy Defense Activities' nuclear weapons program to the Department of Energy's Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Program;

—  Deletion of a provision which repeals a Goldwater-Nichols provision and which may unintentionally reinstate reporting requirements which Goldwater-Nichols terminated; and

—  Deletion of required activities that are unnecessary or inappropriate missions for the Department of Defense. Such provisions would require establishment of a Critical Technologies Institute, and would require Defense to assume a lead role in a program for manufacturing technology improvements.

George Bush, Statement of Administration Policy: S. 2884 - National Defense Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1991 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/329131

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