National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004-Conference Report-Resumed

NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2004-CONFERENCE REPORT-RESUMED

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, as we work to complete the Defense authorization bill, we are reminded of our obligation to the brave men and women of our military. They are protecting us at home and abroad.

Congress must make sure they have the equipment and resources they need.

Two years ago, our country was attacked. Suddenly, we have to project sustained military force around the world, and we had to protect our skies at home-and we had to do it quickly.

But as our tanker fleet embarked on more than 30,000 air refueling missions, we found that our 43-year-old tanker fleet was outdated, too often down for repairs, and too expensive to maintain.

This conference report provides the Air Force with the ability to begin recapitalizing this crucial fleet, with 100 new KC-767 air refueling tankers. These tankers will enable our air crews to do their jobs more effectively, more efficiently and more safely.

Success has many authors, and I thank my colleagues, including: Chairman WARNER and Senator LEVIN for their vigilance on this issue and their willingness to work with my Senate colleagues and me to ensure the Air Force gets these 100 tankers:
Senators STEVENS, INOUYE, CANTWELL, ROBERTS, BROWNBACK and CONRAD for their unwavering support for this program over the last 2 years; and, on the House side, I thank Congressmen DICKS, LARSEN, and MURTHA, as well as
Chairman HUNTER and Speaker HASTERT.

Fairchild Air Force Base outside of Spokane, Washington is home to the 92nd Air Refueling wing.

I have been to Fairchild. I have visited with the families and talked with the brave men and women who fly these tankers. I know the difficult missions these crews handle for each of us every day.

I promised to give them the best equipment we could, and today we're delivering on that promise.

After 2 years of work, I am proud that this legislation provides the authority needed for the Air Force to enter into a contract for 100 KC-767s.

Section 135, of this conference report authorizes the Air Force to enter into a contract for the combined lease and purchase of 100 tanker aircraft under the terms and conditions of Section 8159 of the FY02 Defense Appropriations Act.

This section specifically authorizes the Air Force to enter into one contract for 100 aircraft, 20 by lease and 80 by purchase, or if necessary, more than one contract for the same combination of aircraft.

In their joint report language, the conferees agree that this section would-quote-"authorize the secretary to enter into a multiyear procurement program, using incremental funding" for the 100 aircraft pilot program.

This language means the multiyear procurement program authorized by Section 135 would allow the Air Force to make
payments as agreed to in the contract.

Furthermore, the language states that the Air Force would not be required to have the full budget authority required to purchase an aircraft in order to place an order for that aircraft under the contract.

I would like to point out that Section 135 was written after extensive negotiations between the Congress and the Department of Defense.

The agreement reached on Section 135 is based in part upon a letter sent on November 5, 2003 to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee by the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Mr. Wolfowitz.

The language included in Section 135 of this conference report represents a common understanding between the conferees, the Congress and the Administration on the agreement under which the Air Force will execute this 100 aircraft pilot program.

In closing, I again thank my colleagues for their help in fulfilling the promise I made to the brave men and women of the 92nd
Air Refueling Wing.

Within 3 short years, Fairchild Air Force Base will be home to the first four of the 100 KC-767 air refueling tankers authorized in this bill.

Fairchild will get another 16 of these state-of-the-art aircraft just 1 year later.

I ask unanimous consent that the Wolfowitz letter be printed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

WASHINGTON, DC,
November 5, 2003.

Hon. JOHN WARNER,
Chairman, Committee on Armed Services,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Thank you again for your consideration of the Department of Defense's proposal to lease 100 KC-767A aircraft. As you know, there has been a vigorous debate on the best way to get this program started. Your most recent amendment would allow the Air Force to lease no more than 20 of the 100 tankers. The Air Force has developed a proposal to implement that arrangement, and I hope that you will find it acceptable.

Our proposal strikes a necessary balance between the critical need for new air-refueling tankers and the constraints on our budget. As reflected in the enclosed chart, we intend to lease the initial 20 aircraft and then buy aircraft at a steady rate of 11 to 13 aircraft per year until delivery of the 100th. We commit to add $2.4B, in Fiscal Years (FYs) 2008 through 2010, to the funding profile for the original proposal to lease 100 aircraft. We also will add $1.4B in FY 2012 to 2013. The combination of these added funds achieves an immediate start to the program and allows us to purchase the last 80 aircraft at time of delivery.

I appreciate the support that you have provided in the past and look forward to working you in the future. If you require further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. A similar letter has been sent to the chairmen and ranking minority members of each of the defense committees.

Sincerely,

PAUL WOLFOWITZ,
Deputy Secretary of Defense.