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1 [1] (September 24, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goveqsk0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con ressional I? search Se Informing ley I live d ~a ~ ii e 1914 September 24, 2024 Defense Primer: Military Infrastructure Funding The Department of Defense (DOD) maintains military infrastructure to support military missions around the world. This infrastructure includes buildings, roads, airfields, ports, training ranges, barracks, utilities, piers, pipelines, and other structures. Congress provides two primary funding sources to support military infrastructure. Military construction (MILCON) funding provides for the construction of new facilities and the expansion of existing facilities. Facilities Sustainment, Restoration and Modernization (FSRM) funding provides for the maintenance and renovation of existing facilities. For FY2025, the Biden Administration requested $17.5 billion for MILCON and family housing programs; the request for FSRM funding (sometimes also referred to in budget documents as Sustainment, Restoration and Modernization) totaled $19.8 billion. The MILCON and FSRM programs are interdependent; in budget planning, the tradeoff between maintaining and adapting existing facilities or building anew is given close consideration. Both programs aim to ensure the readiness of military infrastructure worldwide. Nevertheless, the two programs have several differences (see Table 1), as each provides funding for different types of projects, is governed by different statutes and policies, and is funded by distinct congressional appropriations processes. Broadly speaking, one key difference between MILCON and FSRM is that Congress typically exercises comparatively more oversight and direction over the MILCON budget. For example, Congress requires DOD to provide budget- justification documents for individual projects before authorization and the law generally requires enactment of Table I. MILCON and FSRM Program Distinctions MILCON Purpose Committee Oversight Appropriation Category Funding Availability Legislation Governance Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending Funds new construction and expansion of existing facilities MILCON appropriations are overseen by Appropriations Committees' MILCON-VA subcommittee Funded through Military Construction accounts MILCON funding is typically available for obligation for up to five years Appropriation enacted in the annual MILCON- VA Appropriations Act Funding guidelines are based in statute, contained in 10 U.S.C. §§2801 etseq. Chamber rules in some years may allow Members to submit requests to fund specific MILCON projects in their communities line-item level authorization and appropriation for individual projects. By comparison, Congress typically provides annual funding for FSRM in a lump sum to the military services and DOD components, allowing the services and components to exercise discretion over which specific projects receive funding from one year to the next. In some instances, congressional defense committees may allow Members to submit requests to fund specific MILCON projects in their communities; such funding requests-formally known in the House as Community Project Funding and in the Senate as Congressionally Directed Spending- are rarely an option for FSRM projects. MILCON MILCON is one of the primary components, or titles, of the DOD budget. Statutes that outline the use of MILCON funding are contained in Title 10, Chapter 169 of the U.S. Code (Sec. 2801 et. seq.). As part of the annual President's budget request, DOD submits a list of individual MILCON projects, with justification documentation, that includes a cost estimate and the status of each project's planning and design work. Historically, legislation authorizing MILCON projects is developed by the House and Senate Armed Services Committees and enacted in an annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Legislation appropriating funds for MILCON is developed by the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (MILCON-VA) subcommittees of the appropriations committees and appropriated in the annual MILCON-VA Appropriations Act. The line item-level authorizations for individual projects are generally included in an NDAA and appropriations in a MILCON-VA Appropriation Act. FSRM Funds routine maintenance or modernization of existing facilities FSRM appropriations are overseen by Appropriations Committees' Defense subcommittee Funded as line-item subset of O&M accounts FSRM funding is typically available for obligation for one year Appropriation enacted in the annual Defense Appropriations Act Funding guidelines are contained in the DOD Financial Management Regulation (FMR) Defense committees typically do not invite Members to submit requests for specific FSRM projects Source: CRS analysis of U.S. Code, DOD policies, and defense appropriations documents.

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