House hears military construction testimony Published June 23, 2004 By Tech. Sgt. David A. Jablonski Air Force Print News WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Justification for the Air Force’s annual construction budget request can usually be summed up in a couple of words, the service’s top uniformed official said.Mission accomplishment.That message was the central theme during testimony on Capitol Hill on June 22, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper and the assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and logistics, Nelson F. Gibbs, testified before the House Committee on Appropriations, subcommittee on military construction.The leaders discussed the fiscal 2005 Air Force budget overview for military construction.“The Air Force (fiscal) 2005 military construction budget request reflects our commitment to ensuring the Air Force’s continued ability to execute the full range of air and space missions,” the general said. “In turn, the Air Force continues to maintain the commitments made last year to invest wisely in installations from which we project air and space power; take care of our people and their families with adequate housing and quality-of-life improvements; and to sustain the public trust through prudent environmental management.”Continuing a positive trend into 2005, the Air Force military construction program is about the same as the previous year with an increase in the military-family housing program. The requested $2.6 billion for total-force military construction and military-family housing is a $200 million increase from last year’s request. It includes $664 million for active construction, $127 million for Air National Guard construction, more than $84 million for Air Reserve construction, and more than $1.7 billion for family housing.The Air Force has also increased operations and maintenance, sustainment, restoration and modernization funding. With the fiscal 2005 budget request, more than $2.2 billion will be invested in critical infrastructure maintenance and repair through the O&M program. This year, the amount dedicated to SRM is more than $200 million greater than the 2004 request. This year’s request is up almost 11 percent from last year.Considering the level of effort across the entire infrastructure spectrum the overall Air Force 2005 budget request is more than $4.8 billion.“The near- and long-term readiness of our fighting force depends upon this infrastructure,” General Jumper said. “We will continue to enhance our installations’ capabilities, remain good stewards of the environment and ensure Air Force infrastructure is properly distributed to maximize military readiness.”The testimony was the last of the service hearings. The subcommittee will mark-up the budget request in early July and present it to the full House Appropriations Committee and then to the House floor, where all members will vote on the MILCON appropriations bill for fiscal 2005. The Senate conducts similar hearings and a vote. Both House and Senate confer on the bill before October 2004 to reach consensus before presenting the final version for the president to sign into law.