Conferees Reach Agreement on FY 99 Defense Authorization Bill

摘要

This conference report maintains much of the focus and emphasis of the bipartisan bill that passed overwhelmingly in the House last May. By providing adding additional funding for quality of life initiatives and key readiness and modernization accounts, this bill attempts to address many of the personnel and military readiness issues that are becoming everyday news. The conference has done its best in an untenable situation. We have reprioritized within a declining defense budget to better address quality of life, readiness, modernization shortfalls. As such, the conference report reflects significant improvements in many elements of the President's budget request. However, as the Joints Chiefs of Staff apparently briefed the President earlier this week, without additional defense resources to reverse the fourteen year pattern of defense spending decline, the military services will be unable to stabilize their shrinking force structures, protect quality of life and readiness and modernize rapidly aging equipment.