An act to authorize supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 1979 for procurement of aircraft, missiles, and naval vessels for research, development, test, and evaluation for the Armed Forces, and for other purposes.
PL 96-29 (S.429), enacted 06/27/1979

93 STAT. 78 
PUBLIC LAW 96-29—JUNE 27, 1979 
Public Law 96-29 
96th Congress 
An Act 
June 27, 1979 
[S. 429] 
Department of 
Defense 
Supplemental 
Appropriation 
Authorization 
Act, 1979. 
92 Stat. 1611. 
To authorize supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 1979 for procurement of 
aircraft, missiles, and naval vessels and for research, development, test, and 
evaluation for the Armed Forces, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be 
cited as the "Department of Defense Supplemental Appropriation 
Authorization Act, 1979". 
TITLE I—PROCUREMENT 
SEC. 101. In addition to the funds authorized to be appropriated 
under title I of the Department of Defense Appropriation Authoriza-
tion Act, 1979, funds are hereby authorized to be appropriated for 
fiscal year 1979 for the use of the Air Force and the Navy for 
procurement of aircraft, missiles, and naval vessels, as authorized by 
law, in amounts as follows: 
(1) For aircraft: for the Air Force, $45,000,000. 
(2) For missiles: for the Navy, $143,700,000. 
(3) For naval vessels: for the Navy, $1,450,700,000. 
SEC. 102. There is authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 1979 
the sum of $80,100,000 to be available only for contribution by the 
United States of its share of the cost for such fiscal year of the 
acquisition by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization of the Air-
borne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS). 
SEC. 103. (a) During fiscal year 1979, the Secretary of Defense, in 
carrying out the Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding 
Between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Ministers 
of Defence on the NATO E-3A Cooperative Programme, signed by the 
Secretary of Defense on December 6,1978, may— 
(1) waive reimbursement for the cost of the following functions 
performed by personnel other than personnel employed in the 
United States Air Force Airborne Warning and Control System 
(AWACS) program office: 
(A) auditing; 
(B) quality assurance; 
(C) codification; 
(D) inspection; 
(E) contract administration; 
(F) acceptance testing; 
(G) certification services; and 
(H) planning, programming, and management services; 
(2) waive any surcharge for administrative services otherwise 
chargeable; and 
(3) in connection with the NATO E-3A Cooperative Pro-
gramme for fiscal year 1979, assume contingent liability for— 
(A) program losses resulting from the gross negligence of 
any contracting officer of the United States; 
PUBLIC LAW 96-29—JUNE 27, 1979 
93 STAT. 79 
(B) identifiable taxes, customs duties, and other charges levied 
within the United States on the program; and 
(C) the United States share of the unfunded termination 
liability. 
(b) Authority under this section to enter into contracts shall be 
effective for any fiscal year only to such extent or in such amounts as 
are provided in appropriation Acts. 
TITLE II—RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, TEST, AND 
EVALUATION 
SEC. 201. In addition to the funds authorized to be appropriated 
under title II of the Department of Defense Appropriation Authoriza-
tion Act, 1979, funds are hereby authorized to be appropriated for 92 Stat. 1612. 
fiscal year 1979 for the use of the Armed Forces for research, 
development, test, and evaluation, as authorized by law, in amounts 
as follows: 
(1) For the Army, $43,700,000. 
(2) For the Navy, $3,000,000. 
(3) For the Air Force, $253,800,000. 
SEC. 202. (a) It is the sense of the Congress that maintaining a 10 use 139 note, 
survivable land-based intercontinental ballistic missile system is 
vital to the security of the United States and that development of a 
new basing mode for land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles is 
necessary to assure the survivability of the land-based system. To this 
end, the development of the MX missile, together with a new basing 
mode for such missile, should proceed so as to achieve Initial 
Operational Capability (IOC) for both such missile and such basing 
mode at the earliest practicable date. 
Ot)) In addition, it is the sense of the Congress that the basing mode 
for the MX missile should be restricted to location on the least 
productive land available that is suitable for such purpose. 
(c) In accordance with the sense of Congress expressed in subsection 
(a), the Secretary of Defense shall proceed immediately with full scale 
engineering development of the missile basing mode known as the 
Multiple Protective Structure (MPS) system concurrently with full 
scale engineering development of the MX missile, unless and until 
the Secretary of Defense certifies to the Congress that an alternative 
basing mode is militarily or technologically superior to, and is more 
cost effective than, the MPS system or the President informs the 
Congress that in his view the MPS system is not consistent with 
United States national security interests. 
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit or restrict 
the study of alternative basing modes for land-based intercontinental 
ballistic missiles. 
Approved June 27, 1979. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 96-90 accompanying H.R. 2575 (Comm. on Armed Services) 
and No. 96-282 (Comm. of Conference). 
SENATE REPORTS: No. 96-62 (Comm. on Armed Services) and No. 96-223 (Comm. of 
Coiif©rGiiC6) 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 125 (1979): 
May 2, 3, considered and passed Senate. 
May 31, H.R. 2575 considered and passed House; passage vacated and S. 429, 
amended, passed in lieu. 
June 18, Senate agreed to conference report. 
June 21, House agreed to conference report.