2010 Defense Appropriations Bill Recap

Andrew Gonyea
Communications Assistant

The President signed into law the 2010 Defense Appropriations Act Dec. 19, after it passed in the Senate by a vote of 88-10.

In addition to providing appropriations for Department of Defense military programs, the $636.3 billion bill includes funding for Overseas Contingency Operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, though it does not address the President’s new Afghanistan security strategy.

The bill is advertised as “addressing issues raised by service members, their families, and Department of Defense Officials in testimony before Congress, and discovered through visits to military bases across the United States and overseas.”

The National Guard and Reserve Equipment appropriation is $950 million. This falls short of the Senate’s proposal of $1.5 billion, meaning the Reserve will not be able to purchase certain equipment that ROA believes is necessary to fully reset the force. However, the appropriation is an increase of $750 million from the 2009 budget.

There are several provisions in the bill which address ROA resolutions concerning wounded warrior support, family readiness and support programs, and modernizing the armed forces.

The bill provides $1 billion above the request for the Defense Health Program to provide quality medical care for servicemembers and their families, and fully funds the Department of Defense request of $372 million for military medical research. Also included is $120 million for Traumatic Brain Injury and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder research.

In addition, the bill provides $472.4 million for Family Advocacy programs and full funding for Family Support and Yellow Ribbon, which deliver child care services, job training for spouses, and counseling and outreach to families dealing with the separation and stress of war.

With regard to specific ROA resolutions, the bill provides $2.5 billion for 10 additional C-17s above the budget request (Read ROA Resolution No. 09-09), and $202 million, $49 million above the request, for Infrared Missile Countermeasures for the C-17 and C-130 aircraft (Read ROA Resolution No. 08-14).

The bill also funds the development of the Next Generation Aerial Refueling Aircraft (Read ROA resolution No. 08-08), and provides $68 million, $18.5 million above the request, for targeting pod modifications to increase the precision strike ability of U.S. military aircraft (Read ROA Resolution No. 07-01).