Updated August 30, 2018
FY2019 Military Construction Appropriations: An Overview of
H.R. 5895 and Issues in Conference
On February 12, 2018, President Donald Trump submitted
his FY2019 budget to Congress requesting $11.4 billion in
new budget authority for Department of Defense (DOD)
military construction and family housing projects. On June
8, the House passed the Energy and Water, Legislative
Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs
Appropriations Act, 2019 (H.R. 5895), a minibus package
that included an amended version of H.R. 5786, the military
construction appropriations bill reported by the House
Appropriations Committee (HAC). The Senate replaced the
text of the House-passed bill in part with the text of S.
3024, the version of the military construction appropriations
reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC).
On June 25, the Senate passed its amended version of the
minibus package. The House and Senate are currently in
conference.
The House and Senate versions of the bill would each
provide approximately $11.2 billion in new budget
authority for DOD military construction and family housing
projects in the United States and abroad. The amount
includes approximately $10.3 billion in the base budget and
$921.4 million designated for Overseas Contingency
Operations (OCO). Both versions would provide
approximately 4% less than the amount enacted for military
construction in FY2018—including the FY2018
appropriations bill (Division J of P.L. 115-141) and the
emergency supplemental bills for missile defense and
hurricane relief (P.L. 115-96 and P.L. 115-123,
respectively)—and approximately 1% less than the FY2019
President’s budget request (see Table 1 and Figure 1).
While the total amounts are similar, the House and Senate
versions of the bill contain different funding amounts for
numerous projects (see “Selected Highlights” section).
Title I includes appropriations for military construction,
including funding for planning, designing, constructing,
altering, and improving military facilities worldwide. Title I
also includes funding for:
The U.S. portion of North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) Security Investment Program, which acquires
military facilities and installations (including
international military headquarters) and covers expenses
related to collective defense.
The DOD Base Closure Account, which finances
environmental restoration and mitigation activities,
property disposal, and other costs incurred at military
installations closed or realigned as part of the Base
Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process.
Military family housing construction activities,
operation and maintenance, and the Family Housing
Improvement Fund, which finances an initiative to
privatize on-base housing.
Title IV includes military construction appropriations
designated for OCO.
Table 1. FY2019 Military Construction Appropriations
(in billions of dollars of discretionary budget authority)