Additional Resources:
FUNDING, TROOP LEVELS AND POLICY ISSUES
House: Uses $18 billion in the OCO account to pay for base budget items, which will require a new request for war funds by the end of April 2017
Senate: Does not have a similar provision, though a Sen. McCain amendment to add nearly $18 billion missed cloture by a vote of 56-42
Troop Levels
House: Increases troop strength of active and reserve forces:
Active: 20,000+ Army, 1,715+ Navy, 3,000+ Marine Corps, 4,000+ Air Force (Sec. 401)
Reserve: 15,000+ Army National Guard, 10,000+ Army Reserve (Sec. 411)
Senate: The Senate adopts the Department of Defense’s requests for troop strength
Women & Selective Service
House: Does not have a similar provision (Though a provision to require women to register for selective service was removed on the House Floor after narrowly passing in HASC)
Senate: Requires women to register under the Selective Service Act (Sec. 591)
Pay Raise for Armed Services in Fiscal Year 2017
House: 2.1% (HASC Rept)
Senate: 1.6% (SASC Summary)
National Security Council Staff Size
House: Requires Senate confirmation of the National Security Adviser if the NSC staff exceeds 100 employees. (Sec. 926)
Senate: Limits the staff of the NSC to 150 people (Sec. 1089)
Organizational Changes
House: Does not have a similar provision
Senate: Eliminates the joint program office for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (Sec. 1086)
House: Does not have a similar provision
Senate: Eliminates position of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (Sec. 901)
House: Reduces the number of generals and admirals on active duty by five. (Sec. 910)
Senate: Reduces the number of four star generals from 41 to 27 and reduces the overall number of general and flag officers by 25 percent. (Sec. 501)
Auditing the Pentagon
House: Requires a report ranking all military departments and Defense Agencies on their ability to be audited as required by law. (Sec.1003)
Senate: Does not have a similar provision
Afghanistan Visa Waivers
House: Provides special immigrant visas for Afghans who helped the U.S. government perform missions in Afghanistan and whose lives may now be in danger (Sec. 1216)
Senate: Does not have a similar provision.
Guantanamo Bay prison
House: Continues to bar closing the Guantanamo Bay prison and transferring detainees to the United States (Sec 1032, 1033, 1034, 1035, 1099 )
Senate: Continues to bar closing the Guantanamo Bay prison but permits the Pentagon to plan and design a facility in the United States that could house detainees. (Sec. 1023, 1032, 1033, 1034, 1035, 1099)
NUCLEAR WEAPONS, NON-PROLIFERATION, MISSILE DEFENSE AND ARMS CONTROL ISSUES
B-21 Strategic Bomber
House: Requires the Secretary of Defense to submit to Congress the cost of the full B-21 program. (Sec. 136)
Senate: Requires the Air Force release a baseline developmental contract estimate of the initial contract for the system. (Sec. 217)
If the B-21 bomber fleet cost grows by 25 percent or more, the Pentagon “shall immediately halt the program” (Sec. 844)
Alert Status of Land-based Nuclear Missiles
House: Prevents changes to the alert status of America’s ground-based nuclear missiles and bars a unilateral reduction in their numbers. (Sec. 1649A)
Senate: Does not have a similar provision
National Missile defense
House: Calls for a robust layered missile defense system and repeals the 1999 bill that permitted the U.S. to build a missile defense system against “limited ballistic missile attack” (Sec. 1665)
Senate: Eliminates the 17-year old restriction for a “limited” missile defense program in order to permit work on an expanded missile defense, potentially against Russian and Chinese missiles. (Sec. 1665)
Space-based interceptors
House: “Requires the initiation of concept definition, design, research, development, and engineering evaluation and testing for a space-based intercept and defeat layer and space test bed.” (Sec. 1656)
Senate: Does not have a similar provision
Nuclear Weapon Dismantlement
House: Limits to $56 million annually the use of funds to dismantle nuclear weapons from FY2017-2021 and prevents funding from FY2017-2021 to be used to accelerate dismantlement (Sec. 3118)
Senate: Prevents funding from FY2017-2021 to be used to accelerate dismantlement beyond what is already planned by the Department of Energy (Sec. 3113)
Disposition of weapons-usable plutonium (Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication)
House: Requires the Department of Energy to move forward with the construction and project support activities for the Mixed Oxide Fuel (MOX) facility at the Savannah River Site, Aiken, South Carolina. Provision also includes a waiver authority for the Secretary of Energy (Sec. 3113)
Senate: Requires an assessment of the technical and managerial risks of the program and recommendations for improvement. (Sec. 3114), Added $70 million for to continue construction of MOX. (Report Language)
Cooperative Threat Reduction funds in China
House: Limits Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) funds in China unless China has disrupted the proliferation activities of Li Fangwei and arrested him and has not proliferated to any non-nuclear weapons state. (Sec. 1303)
Senate: Does not have a similar provision
Nuclear Security Cooperation with Russia
House: Restricts nuclear security cooperation with Russia. (Sec. 3115)
Senate: Does not have a similar provision.
Reduction to Non-Proliferation Account:
House: Cuts $82.4 million from the “Material Management & Minimization” and “Non-Proliferation R&D” accounts within the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Defense Nuclear Non-Proliferation program, with the funds added to the Surface-To-Air missile MSE program. (Rep. Westerman (R-AR) amendment)
Senate: Does not have a similar provision
Nuclear Report Mandate
House: Fences off 50% of the funds for the Office of the Secretary of the Energy until the finished report “U.S. Nuclear Deterrence in the Coming Decades” is sent to the Intelligence Committees in both chambers. (Sec. 3116)
Senate: Does not have a similar provision
Open Skies Treaty
House: Restricts the expenditure of funds towards implementation of the Open Skies Treaty (Sec. 1231) and an assessment of whether or not the Open Skies Treaty is in the interest of the United States. (Sec. 1259)
Senate: Requires an annual report on observational flights over the United States under the Open Skies Treaty (Sec. 1079)
CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS
Littoral Combat Ship
House: Increases purchase of Littoral Combat Ships from two to three (HSAC Rept)
Senate: Preserves the President’s request of two Littoral Combat Ships (Sec 122)
Joint Aerostat “Runaway Blimp” Program (JLENS):
House: Reduction of $43 million, leaving $2.4 million to conclude the program. (Sec. 4201, Pg. 1339)
Senate: Reduction of $41 million, leaving $4.5 million to conclude the program. (Sec. 4201, Pg. 1467)
