Q: In this task, you are given text for US Congressional and California state bills, your task is to generate a summary for this bill.
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.
A:
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.