On February 14, 2011, President Barack Obama submitted to Congress his request for military construction appropriations to support federal government operations during FY2012, which will begin on October 1, 2011. The House Committee on Appropriations introduced its Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for 2012 ( H.R. 2055 ) on May 31. The House began debate on June 2 and passed the bill on June 14, 2011. Debate and amendment on the House floor encompassed several provisions that could affect the cost of and competition for military construction projects. One debate centered on Section 415, which was eventually stricken by recorded vote, 204-203 ( H.Amdt. 411 , Roll no. 413). The section would have barred the use of military construction funds to enforce Executive Order 13502 (41 U.S.C. 251 note). This order permits executive agencies to specify that "project labor agreements" (PLAs) be used on construction costing $25 million or more. These PLAs are pre-hire collective bargaining agreements with labor organizations that establish the terms and conditions of employment on specific construction projects. Another amendment, proposed on the floor, would have barred the imposition of Davis-Bacon prevailing wage standards on military construction projects. The motion was defeated in a recorded vote, 178-232 ( H.Amdt. 413 , Roll no. 414). H.R. 2055 was received in the Senate on June 15, 2011, and was referred to the Committee on Appropriations. On June 30, the committee reported the bill as an amendment in the form of a substitute ( S.Rept. 112-29 ). A motion to proceed to consideration of the measure was made on July 11 ( Congressional Record , S4478). Cloture on the motion to proceed was invoked on July 13 by yea-nay vote, 89-11 (Recorded Vote No. 109), and H.R. 2055 was laid before the Senate by unanimous consent on July 14. A number of additional amendments were considered during debate, and H.R. 2055 , as further amended was passed by yea-nay vote, 97-2 (Record Vote No. 115). The Senate insisted on its amendment and appointed conferees. Failing enactment of H.R. 2055 before the beginning of FY2012, Congress passed, and the President signed, a series of temporary funding bills the generally continued funding for military construction projects at levels consistent with those enacted for FY2011. Thus far, five continuing resolutions have been enacted, including the First FY2012 Continuing Resolution ( H.R. 2017 , P.L. 112-33 , through October 4, 2011), the Second FY2012 Continuing Resolution (the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012, H.R. 2608 , P.L. 112-36 , through November 18, 2011), the Third FY2012 Continuing Resolution (the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012, H.R. 2112 , P.L. 112-55 , through December 16, 2011), the Fourth Continuing Resolution ( H.J.Res. 94 , P.L. 112-67 , through December 17, 2011) and the Fifth Continuing Resolution ( H.J.Res. 95 , through December 23, 2011). The third act, because it funded the Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, and Science, and Transportation/HUD appropriations for the entire fiscal year, was commonly referred to as the "Minibus." Sections 102 and 110 of P.L. 112-33 stipulate, in part, that no appropriations or funds made available [to] ... the Department of Defense shall be used for ... the initiation, resumption, or continuation of any project ... for which appropriations, funds, or other authority were not available during fiscal year 2011.... This Act shall be implemented so that only the most limited funding action of that permitted in the Act shall be taken in order to provide for continuation of projects and activities. This language continued in effect through the subsequent four temporary funding acts, preventing the initiation of any new military construction project during the time that these statutes remained in effect. On December 7, 2011, Representative Hal Rogers, chair of the House Committee on Appropriations, asked unanimous consent that the House disagree with the Senate amendment to H.R. 2055 . The motion was accepted without objection, and the Speaker appointed conferees. The conference began on December 8, 2011, and in their opening statements, conferees Senator Daniel K. Inouye, chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, and Representative Harold Rogers, his contemporary on the House committee, noted that the conference intended to pull the nine FY2012 appropriations bills remaining to be enacted into an amended H.R. 2055 that would be reported to both chambers for passage. Press coverage of the bill's conference has used the term "Megabus" to describe the anticipated resulting appropriations bill. During the conference, the draft bills for the following regular annual appropriations were added to the text of H.R. 2055 as divisions within the basic bill: Division A: Defense Division B: Energy and Water Division C: Financial Services Division D: Department of Homeland Security Division E: Interior and Environment Division F: Labor, Health and Human Services, Department of Education Division G: Legislative Branch Division H: Military Construction, Veterans Affairs Division I: Department of State and Foreign Operations The conferees filed their report on December 15. The House agreed to the conference report by the Yeas and Nays (296-121, Roll No. 941) on December 16, 2011, and the Senate followed suit on December 17 by Yea-Nay vote (67-32, Record Vote No. 235) and sent a message of their action to the House on the same day. The bill was presented to the President on December 21, 2011. He signed it into law on December 23, whereupon it became P.L. 112-74 . Section 114 of Title 10, United States Code , requires that Congress authorize the appropriation of funding to the Department of Defense (DOD) for certain purposes, including military construction, as part of the annual appropriations cycle. This authorization is effected through the enactment of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), of which one division constitutes the Military Construction Authorization Act. While appropriations bills fall within the jurisdiction of the two chambers' Committees on Appropriations, writing the NDAA is the responsibility of the Committees on Armed Services. The NDAA for FY2012 ( H.R. 1540 ) was introduced in the House on April 14, 2011. The House Committee on Armed Services reported its amendment of the bill on May 17 ( H.Rept. 112-78 , with a supplemental report, H.Rept. 112-78 , Part 2, submitted on May 23). The House passed the bill by recorded vote, 322-96 (Roll no. 375), on May 26, and the Senate received it on June 6, 2011. The Senate version of the NDAA ( S. 1253 ) was introduced to the Senate on June 22, 2011, accompanied by its report ( S.Rept. 112-26 ), and was placed on the legislative calendar under general orders (Calendar No. 80). A second Senate version was of the FY2012 NDAA ( S. 1867 ) was introduced by Senator Carl Levin, chair of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, was introduced without report on November 15. Taken up two days later, S. 1867 was debated on November 17 and 18 and again between November 28 and December 1, when its amended version was passed 93-7 (Record Vote No. 218). The Senate then incorporated S. 1867 into the House's bill as an amendment and passed the amended H.R. 1540 by Unanimous Consent. Insisting on its amendment, the Senate called for a conference and appointed conferees, informing the House of its actions on December 5. By unanimous consent, the House disagreed with the Senate amendment on December 7, agreed to a conference, and the Speaker subsequently appointed conferees. The conferees filed their report ( H.Rept. 112-329 ) on December 12. The House agreed to the report by recorded vote (283-136, Roll No. 932) on December 14, and the Senate did the same by Yea-Nay vote (86-13, Record Vote No. 230) the next day, sending a message on their action to the House. The bill was presented to the President on December 21, 2011. He signed it on December 31, whereupon it became P.L. 112-81 . The military construction appropriations account includes a number of appropriations subaccounts: Military Construction accounts provide funds for new construction, construction improvements, and facility planning and design in support of active and reserve military forces and DOD agencies. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization Security Investment Program (NSIP) is the U.S. contribution to a common fund in which all NATO members participate to defray the costs of construction (airfields, fuel pipelines, military headquarters, etc.) needed to support major NATO commands. Family housing accounts fund new construction, construction improvements, federal government costs for family housing privatization, maintenance and repair, furnishings, management, services, utilities, and other expenses incurred in providing suitable accommodation for military personnel and their families where needed. The DOD Housing Improvement Fund is the vehicle by which DOD provides the seed money, both directly appropriated and transferred from other accounts, needed to initiate public-private arrangements for the privatization of military housing. The Homeowners Assistance Fund aids federal personnel stationed at or near an installation scheduled for closure or realignment who are unable to sell their homes by allowing the Secretary of Defense to subsidize the sale or to purchase homes outright.