We Are Guahan, Please find attached the Fiscal Year 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that was voted on by the House of Representatives today. This bill, now passed by the House, will now be reconciled with the Senate version of the NDAA. Join me in protesting this build-up by emailing, calling and letter writing members of the Senate Armed Services Committee protesting the inclusion of H.R. 4402. The bill is 543 pages long. Guam is mentioned on 13 pages of the bill. Here is the exact language of the bill: Page 111: Comptroller General Review of Forward Deployed Naval Forces and Associated Sustainment Issues Forward presence is critical to the Navy’s goals of building part- nerships, deterring aggression without escalation, defusing threats, and containing conflict without regional disruption. Naval forces provide forward presence through a combination of rotational de- ployments from the United States, Forward Deployed Naval Forces (FDNF) in Japan, Guam, the Kingdom of Spain, and the Italian Republic, and forward stationing ships in places such as the King- dom of Bahrain, the Republic of Singapore, and Diego Garcia. The Navy’s ability to implement these concepts depends on U.S. bases and strategic partnerships overseas that provide places where forces can rest, repair, refuel, and resupply. In the FDNF con- struct, the ships, crews and families all reside in the host nation. This construct is in contrast to forward stationing, where the ship’s families reside in the United States and the crew rotates to the ship’s overseas location for deployment. Pages 117 & 118: Sustainment of Deployed Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense The committee commends the Department of Defense for its rapid and successful deployment of an Army Air and Missile De- fense Task Force (AMDTF) and Terminal High-Altitude Area De- fense (THAAD) missile defense battery to Guam last spring in re- sponse to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s aggressive posture. The committee notes that Army Chief of Staff, General Raymond Odierno, in testimony before the committee, stated that the Army is working on plans to sustain a long-term presence of a THAAD battery and an AMDTF on Guam to provide necessary protection of military manpower, assets, and civilians. In order to better understand the requirements to sustain an AMDTF and THAAD battery on Guam, the committee directs the Secretary of the Army, in consultation with the Chief of the National Guard Bu- reau, to report to the committee by January 31, 2015, on the fol- lowing requirements related to THAAD sustainment: (1) An accounting of force structure needed, including potential Army National Guard or Army Reserve force structure; (2) Potential military construction needed for force protection and other sustainment issues; (3) Estimated military personnel and operation and maintenance costs; and Any legal, statutory, or authority challenges associated with sustaining an AMDTF and THAAD battery on Guam. Pages 122 & 123: Briefing on Invasive Species Management The committee notes that in the fall of 2013, the coconut rhinoc- eros beetle, an invasive species to the Hawaiian Islands and Guam, was discovered on the island of Oahu and has been found on Guam since 2007. While it is unknown how the species came to Hawaii or Guam, the committee is aware that a coconut rhinoceros beetle population was identified on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, which is in close proximity to Honolulu International Airport. Since discovering the existence of this invasive species on Hawaii, the committee notes that the Department of Agriculture has been lead- ing the effort, jointly with the Department of Defense and appro- priate State agencies, to eliminate breeding sites, and monitor and control the spread of the coconut rhinoceros beetle on the island of Oahu. In addition to the more immediate response, the committee notes that the Department of Defense is already addressing invasive species through other mechanisms. Specifically, the Department of the Navy is supporting efforts to develop the Micronesian Biosecurity Plan, jointly with the Department of Agriculture, and the govern- ments of the State of Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. In preparing the plan, the partners evaluated invasive species risks to marine, terrestrial, and freshwater ecosystems, to include the coco- nut rhinoceros beetle. Additionally, for invasive species manage- ment, the committee notes that Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and Joint Region Marianas maintain an Integrated Natural Re- sources Management Plan which includes measures to prevent the proliferation of invasive species. The committee encourages the Department of the Navy to con- tinue its work with the Department of Agriculture, as well as State and local entities, to monitor and contain any further spread of the coconut rhinoceros beetle within Hawaii and Guam. The committee directs the Secretary of the Navy to provide a briefing to the com- mittee not later than September 1, 2014, regarding the status of the coconut rhinoceros beetle on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and Joint Region Marianas and steps the Department of the Navy has taken, working with partners, to control, mitigate, or eradicate the species or its habitat. Page 155: Section 563—Expansion of Functions of the Advisory Council on Dependents’ Education to Include Domestic Dependent Elemen- tary and Secondary Schools This section would expand the functions of the Advisory Council on Dependents’ Education to include the domestic dependent ele- mentary and secondary schools of the Department of Defense with- in the continental United States, Puerto Rico, and Guam. Pages 342 & 343 Public-Private Family Housing on Guam The committee recognizes that the Department of the Navy re- cently released a draft supplemental Environmental Impact State- ment regarding the development of a main cantonment area and firing range for U.S. Marines realigning from Okinawa, Japan, to Guam. Further, the committee recognizes that the Distributed Laydown differs significantly from previous realignment plans, as it depends on a more heavily rotational force on Guam than a per- manent headquarters presence. Under the renegotiated agreement with the Government of Japan to support the Distributed Laydown, the committee understands that the Government of Japan will no longer provide nearly $3.0 billion in special purpose entity (SPE) funds. According to plans and briefings from the Department, a SPE is essentially a public-private venture (PPV) for military fam- ily housing and certain utility improvements. Despite the changes to the plans for the realignment of U.S. Ma- rines, the committee recognizes that additional military forces are also realigning to Guam as part of the Asia-Pacific rebalance. In particular, the Navy announced the stationing of a fourth Los An- geles class fast-attack submarine in Guam, and the Air Force con- tinues a Red Horse and Contingency Response Group beddown at Andersen Air Force Base. These additional forces, along with other potential military personnel increases, will challenge the current inventory of military family housing on Guam. The committee has been supportive of PPV endeavors in other U.S. locations and rec- ognizes the potential long-term cost savings coupled with improve- ments to quality of life matters for service members and their fami- lies. As such, the committee directs the Secretary of Defense to pro- vide a report to the congressional defense committees by April 1, 2015, on the feasibility of utilizing public-private housing ventures on Guam and any factors that might inhibit establishment of such a public-private housing venture. The report should also assess the current backlog and projected backlog in the Future Years Defense Program as to shortfalls in family housing, by service, and the measures that the Secretary has programmed to address these shortfalls. Page 347: SUBTITLE C—PROVISIONS RELATED TO ASIA-PACIFIC MILITARY REALIGNMENT Section 2831—Repeal or Modification of Certain Restrictions on Realignment of Marine Corps Forces in Asia-Pacific Region This section would amend section 2822 of the Military Construc- tion Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (division B of Public Law 113–66) and strike certain restrictions limiting the movement of Marine Corps forces from Okinawa, Japan to Guam. Page 481: Navy Military Construction - Joint Region Marianas GSE Shop at North Ramp $21.880 million. Navy Military Construction - Marine Wing Support Squadron (MWSS) Facilities at North Ramp - $28.771 million Page 482: Air Force Construction - Joint Region Marianas Guam Strike Fuel Systems Maintenance Hangar Inc 2 $64 million PRTC—Combat Comm Infrastr Facility $3.75 million PRTC—RED HORSE Logistics Facility $3.15 million PRTC—Satellite Fire Station $6.5 million
Posted on: Fri, 23 May 2014 20:08:53 +0000
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