Topic: Defense — Installations & Land
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2008-07-24 00:00:00

Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2009 - Title I: Department of Defense - Appropriates funds for FY2009 for the Department of Defense (DOD) for: (1) military construction for the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, and Air Force (military departments), DOD, the Army and Air National Guard, and the Army, Navy, and Air Force reserves; (2) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Security Investment Program; (3) family housing construction and related operation and maintenance for the military departments and DOD; (4) the Department of Defense Family Housing Improvement Fund; (5) the Homeowners Assistance Fund; (6) chemical demilitarization construction; and (7) the Department of Defense Base Closure Accounts of 1990 and 2005. Specifies restrictions and authorizations regarding the use of funds appropriated in this title and in other military construction appropriations Acts. (Sec. 113) Directs the Secretary of Defense to notify the appropriate congressional committees 30 days in advance of the plans and scope of any proposed military exercise involving U.S. personnel if construction costs are anticipated to exceed $100,000. (Sec. 118) Directs the Secretary to report to the appropriations committees on actions proposed by DOD to encourage other members of NATO, Japan, South Korea, and U.S. allies bordering the Arabian Sea to assume a greater share of the common defense burden of such nations and the United States. (Sec. 121) Requires the Secretary of the military department concerned, at least 60 days prior to issuing any solicitation for a contract with the private sector for military family housing, to notify the appropriations committees of any guarantees (including the making of mortgage or rental payments) proposed to be made to the private party in the event of: (1) the closure or realignment of the installation for which the housing is provided; (2) a reduction in force of units stationed at such installation; or (3) the extended deployment overseas of units stationed at such installation. (Sec. 122) Authorizes the transfer of DOD funds for expenses associated with the Homeowners Assistance Program under the Metropolitan Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966. (Sec. 125) Places specified restrictions and limitations on the obligation or expenditure of funds made available in this title or in any other military construction appropriations Act to carry out a military construction, land acquisition, or family housing project at or for a military installation approved for closure, or for supporting a function that has been approved for realignment to another installation, in 2005 under the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990. (Sec. 126) Provides for the transfer of lapsed unobligated military construction and family housing funds into the Foreign Currency Fluctuations, Defense account. (Sec. 127) Prohibits this Act's funds from being used for any action that relates to or promotes the expansion of the boundaries or size of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, Colorado. Title II: Department of Veterans Affairs - Authorizes appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for: (1) the Veterans Benefits Administration; (2) readjustment benefits; (3) veterans insurance and indemnities; (4) the Veterans Housing Benefit Program Fund; (5) the Vocational Rehabilitation Loans Program; (6) the Native American Veteran Housing Loan Program; (7) guaranteed transitional housing loans for homeless veterans; (8) the Veterans Health Administration (including for medical and prosthetic research and information technology systems); (9) the National Cemetery Administration; (10) the Office of the Inspector General; (11) construction for major and minor projects; and (12) grants for the construction of state extended care facilities and veterans cemeteries. Specifies restrictions and authorizations regarding the use of funds appropriated in this title. (Sec. 210) Makes funds from this title available to reimburse expenses of the Office of Resolution Management and the Office of Employment Discrimination Complaint Adjudication, within specified limits. (Sec. 216) Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to allow veterans eligible under existing VA medical care requirements and who reside in Alaska to obtain medical services from facilities supported by the Indian Health Service or tribal organizations. (Sec. 218) Prohibits the VA from using funds available in this or any other Act to replace the current system by which the Veterans Integrated Service Networks select and contract for diabetes monitoring supplies and equipment. (Sec. 220) Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to report quarterly to the appropriations committees on the financial status of the Veterans Health Administration. (Sec. 224) Extends through FY2009: (1) certain daily copayment limits for veterans receiving hospital or nursing home care; and (2) VA authority to recover from third party insurers the cost of care provided to a veteran for a non-service-connected disability. Title III: Related Agencies - Appropriates funds for: (1) the American Battle Monuments Commission; (2) the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims; (3) cemeterial expenses; and (4) the Armed Forces Retirement Home. Title IV: General Provisions - Specifies restrictions and authorizations regarding the use of funds appropriated in this Act, including prohibitions on the use of funds: (1) to enforce a provision of a VHA policy directive concerning voter registration at patient facilities; (2) to take private property for public use without just compensation; or (3) for a project or program named for an individual serving as a Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, or Senator of the U.S. Congress.