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Staff Contact: Russ Vought (x68581) September 26, 2006

**Appropriations Policy Brief**

**H.R. 5631---Defense Appropriations Act for FY 2007**

***Conference Report***

**[Items of Note:]{.underline}**

**Contingency Operations Reserve Fund:** Includes \$70 billion in
supplemental appropriations for the Global War on Terror (GWOT), the
so-called "Bridge Fund," as a downpayment on future supplementals. The
Administration's request and the House-passed bill included \$50 billion
for the Fund. Most of the additional \$20 billion is to fund
unanticipated defense "reset" costs---funding to replace and repair
equipment and weapons to full combat ready condition after they are
returned from field condition. The Administration supports this
additional funding because it flows directly to the GWOT and would be
inevitably requested in later supplementals. In addition, \$20 million
is provided for peacekeeping activities in Sudan.

**Wildfire Emergency Funding:** Provides \$200 million for the wildfire
suppression activities of the Departments of Interior and Agriculture
and designates such funding as an emergency. This funding is provided
for under the budget resolution's new \$6.45 billion reserve fund for
non-defense emergencies.

**Continuing Resolution**: Includes a resolution (CR) making continuing
appropriations for all departments or agencies (for which funding has
not been enacted before the start of the new fiscal year) through
November 17, 2006, at the lower of three levels: current law (FY06),
House-passed, or Senate-passed. The resolution is relatively clean
although it does extend a number of anomalies set to expire, consistent
with past CRs, such as the authority for the Department of Agriculture
to dispense food stamps benefits through 2006, etc.

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**Wind Demonstration Program**: Provides \$5 million "to coordinate a
wind demonstration project on a U.S. Air Force installation using
domestically manufactured turbines that are new to the U.S. market and
to execute the renewable energy purchasing plan."

**V-22 Osprey Transfer Authority**: Includes language allowing research
and development funding for the V-22 osprey to be used to meet unique
operational requirements of the Special Operations Forces.

**National Drug Intelligence Center:** Provides \$39 million for the
Pentagon's contribution to the National Drug Intelligence Center at the
Department of Justice to support counter-drug intelligence activities.

**Medical Care for Civilians in the Territories**: Allows the Secretary
of the Army to open Army medical facilities to civilian patients from
American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the
Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, and Guam.

**Competitive Sourcing**: Prohibits funds from being made available to
perform any cost study pursuant to the provisions of OMB Circular A--76
(competitive sourcing), if the study being

performed exceeds a period of 24 months after initiation of such study
with respect to a single function activity or 30 months after initiation
of such study for a multi-function activity.

**Buy-American Steel**: Requires that all carbon, alloy, or armor steel
plate procured by the Pentagon have been melted or rolled in the U.S.
This is just one of many Buy-America provisions contained throughout the
conference report.

**U.S.S. Greenville**: Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to settle
and pay all claims arising out of the collision involving the U.S.S.
Greenville and the Ehime Maru.

**NLOS-C:** Directs the Pentagon to make future budgetary and
programmatic plans to fully finance the Non-Line of Sight Future Force
canon (NLOS-C) and a compatible large caliber ammunition resupply
capability, in order to field the system by FY 2010.

**Special Needs Educational Assistance**: Provides \$5.5 million for
assistance to public schools with high concentrations of special needs
military dependents enrolled.

**Air Force Repairs in Alaska**: Provides up to \$50 million for the Air
Force to complete repair jobs, upgrades, and additions on operational
ranges in Alaska.

**Dyslexia Report:** Requires the Pentagon to submit a report within 90
days detailing its efforts to address dyslexia in students at DoD
Education Activity Schools.

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**[Earmarks:]{.underline}**

**Note:** The following earmarks are located in the text of the bill.
There are additional earmarks listed in the Committee Report. Under H.R.
1000, the conferees are required to either include a list of all the
earmarks (and the requesting Member) "airdropped" or added in conference
*or* include a statement that no earmarks were added that were neither
passed by the House nor the Senate. The conferees provided the latter,
asserting that any earmarks within the conference report had already
passed the House or the Senate.

-   \$2.5 million to the Fisher House Foundation. The Foundation is a
    private nonprofit that constructs housing for military family
    members with an ill or hospitalized servicemember.

-   \$4.5 million for the Intrepid Sea-Air Space Foundation

-   \$2.6 million for the Center for Applied Science and Technologies

-   \$1 million for the Women in Military Service for America Memorial
    Foundation

-   \$2 million for the Presidio Trust

-   \$1 million for the Red Cross Consolidated Blood Services Facility

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