HASC Approves NDAA with Gallego Provision to Limit DOD’s Authority to Reprogram Military Construction Funds
WASHINGTON, DC – Early this morning, the House Armed Services Committee approved the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act, including a provision authored by Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) that will limit the Department of Defense's authority to repurpose funds that were designated for military construction.
The provision will cap national emergency military construction authority at $500,000,000 per emergency and tighten the ability to waive other provisions of law in carrying out the projects. The provision will only allow money that cannot be spent for its intended purpose to be used for an emergency, would require additional information in a congressional notification, and delay the start of construction until after a waiting period following the notification going to Congress.
A similar bill was introduced by Rep. Gallego in May, and was cosponsored by HASC Chair Adam Smith (D-Wash.), HASC Readiness Subcommittee Chair John Garamendi (D-Calif.), and six additional members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus who serve on the House Armed Services Committee.
"By diverting money from troop recruitment accounts, counter narcotics efforts, and critical infrastructure, the Trump Administration is making our country less safe," said Rep. Gallego. "The Trump administration must no longer be allowed to jeopardize military readiness and our national security by using our armed services as a bottomless piggy bank for the president's worst political impulses."
Rep. Ruben Gallego is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and a Marine Corps combat veteran.