Securing America's Future Uniformed Services Act (SAFE-USA) of 1999

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Securing America's Future Uniformed 
Services Act (SAFE-USA) of 1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The steady decline in the defense budget during the 
        past 15 years has eroded the readiness of the Armed Forces to 
        execute those missions called for under the National Military 
        Strategy to the point where the Joint Chiefs of Staff have 
        repeatedly characterized the ability of the Armed Forces to 
        execute the National Military Strategy as representing 
        ``moderate to high risk''.
            (2) This erosion in readiness of the Armed Forces, 
        particularly in recent years, has resulted from inadequate 
        rates of equipment modernization, delayed equipment 
        maintenance, degraded quality and quantity of combat training, 
        and a declining quality of life for members of the Armed Forces 
        and their families.
            (3) The declining quality of life for members of the Armed 
        Forces and their families has resulted from a range of factors, 
        including inadequacies in pay and benefits, military 
        retirement, health care, military housing, and family support 
        programs, as shown by the following:
                    (A) Low military pay, estimated on average to be 
                13.5 percent behind civilian levels, is forcing 
                servicemembers and their families to struggle to make 
                ends meet.
                    (B) Inequities in the current military retirement 
                system are a contributing factor to the current 
                military personnel retention problem.
                    (C) Growing dissatisfaction with military health 
                care is another important factor contributing to 
                military retention problems.
                    (D) Military families and unaccompanied military 
                personnel continue to live in inadequate facilities, as 
                indicated by the fact that military barracks and 
                dormitories are on average over 45 years old and almost 
                two-thirds of military family housing has been deemed 
                by the Department of Defense as unsuitable.
                    (E) With a current force in which 65 percent of 
                military personnel are married, family support programs 
                are increasingly inadequate to meet their needs in the 
                face of historically high rates of peacetime operations 
                and the resulting increase in family separations.
            (4) The drawdown of the Armed Forces during the post-Cold 
        War period, combined with the dramatic increase in the pace of 
        military operations during the same period, has resulted in 
        significant strains on military personnel and their families.
            (5) The Armed Forces face severe recruiting and retention 
        difficulties and shortages of personnel with high-demand 
        skills.
            (6) Surveys conducted by the Armed Forces and testimony 
        before Congress indicate that the leading factors in declining 
        retention rates are inadequate pay, family separations 
        resulting from increased contingency operations, and the lack 
        of adequate resources to carry out assigned missions.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the United States must provide the Armed Forces with 
        sufficient resources to maintain the necessary capability to 
        execute the National Military Strategy with minimal risk; and
            (2) despite past congressional efforts to improve military 
        pay and benefits and housing, health care, and family support 
        programs, a comprehensive effort is required to revitalize and 
        sustain the all-volunteer force and address the decline in the 
        quality of life for members of Armed Forces and their families 
        by--
                    (A) significantly improving the quality and 
                availability of affordable housing for military 
                families and enhancing the condition of housing for 
                unaccompanied military personnel;
                    (B) reforming the military retirement system to 
                permit the Armed Forces to retain sufficient high-
                quality personnel to meet requirements; and
                    (C) enhancing pay and benefits to permit the Armed 
                Forces to recruit and retain high-quality personnel.

SEC. 4. FISCAL YEAR 2000 INCREASE IN MILITARY BASIC PAY.

    (a) Increase in Basic Pay.--Effective on January 1, 2000, the rates 
of monthly basic pay for members of the uniformed services shall be 
increased by 4.8 percent.
    (b) Waiver of Section 1009 Adjustment.--The adjustment to become 
effective during fiscal year 2000 required by section 1009 of title 37, 
United States Code, in the rates of monthly basic pay authorized 
members of the uniformed services shall not be made.

Summary: Securing America's Future Uniformed Services Act (SAFE-USA) of 1999 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States must provide its armed forces with sufficient resources to maintain the capability to execute the national military strategy with minimal risk; and (2) a comprehensive effort is required to revitalize and sustain the all-volunteer force and to address the decline in the quality of life for military personnel and their families, especially with regard to military housing, pay, and retirement benefits. 
Increases by 4.8 percent, as of January 1, 2000, the rates of monthly basic pay for military personnel.  Waives, during FY 2000, the required adjustment of such pay in conformance with the General Schedule of the Federal Government.