AUTHORIZING APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 1976 AND THE PERIOD BEGINNING JULY 1, 1976, AND ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 1976, FOR MILITARY PROCUREMENT, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, ACTIVE DUTY, RESERVE, AND CIVILIAN PERSONNEL STRENGTH LEVELS, MILITARY TRAINING STUDENT LOADS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. SEPTEMBER 19 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 11), 1975.-Ordered to be printed Mr. STENNIS, from the committee of conference, CONFERENCE REPORT [To accompany H.R. 6674] The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendment of the Senate to the bill (H.R. 6674) to authorize appropriations during the fiscal year 1976, and the period beginning July 1, 1976, and ending September 30, 1976, for procurement of aircraft, missiles, naval vessels, tracked combat vehicles, torpedoes, and other weapons, and research, development, test and cvaluation for the Armed Forces, and to prescribe the authorized personnel strength for each active duty component and of the Selected Reserve of each Reserve component of the Armed Forces and of civilian personnel of the Department of Defense, and to authorize the military training student loads and for other purposes, having met, after full and free conference, have agreed to recommend and do recommend to their respective Houses as follows: That the House recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the Senate and agree to the same with an amendment as follows: In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted by the Senate amendment insert the following: TITLE I-PROCUREMENT SEC. 101. Funds are hereby authorized to be appropriated during the fiscal year 1976 for the use of the Armed Forces of the United States for procurement of aircraft, missiles, naval vessels, tracked 57-010 O combat vehicles, torpedoes, and other weapons, as authorized by law, in amounts as follows: AIRCRAFT For aircraft: for the Army, $337,500,000; for the Navy and the Marine Corps, $2.997,800.000; for the Air Force, $4,119,000,000, of which amount not to exceed $64,000,000 is authorized for the procurement of only long lead items for the B-1 bomber aircraft. None of the funds authorized by this Act may be obligated or expended for the purpose of entering into any production contract or any other contractual arrangement for production of the B-1 bomber aircraft unless the production of such aircraft is hereafter authorized by law. The funds authorized in this Act for long lead items for the B-1 bomber aircraft do not constitute a production decision or a commitment on the part of Congress for the future production of such aircraft. MISSILES For missiles: for the Army, $431,000,000; for the Navy, $990,400,000; for the Marine Corps, $52,900,000; for the Air Force, $1,765,000,000, of which $265,800,000 shall be used only for the procurement of Minuteman III missiles. NAVAL VESSELS For Naval vessels: for the Navy, $3,899,400,000. TRACKED COMBAT VEHICLES For tracked combat vehicles: for the Army, $864,900.000, of which $379,400,000 shall be used only for the procurement of M-60 series tanks; for the Marine Corps, $101,500,000. TORPEDOES For torpedoes and related support equipment: for the Navy, $189,500,000. OTHER WEAPONS For other weapons: for the Army, $74,300,000; for the Navy, $17,700,000; for the Marine Corps, $100,000. TITLE II-RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, TEST, AND EVALUATION SEC. 201. Funds are hereby authorized to be appropriated during the fiscal year 1976 for the use of the Armed Forces of the United States for research, development, test, and evaluation, as authorized by law, in amounts as follows: For the Army, $2,028,933,000; For the Navy (including the Marine Corps), $3,318,649,000; For the Air Force, $3,737,001,000; and For the Defense Agencies, $588,700,000, of which $25,000,000 is authorized for the activities of the Director of Test and Evaluation, Defense. TITLE III-ACTIVE FORCES SEC. 301. (a) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1975, and ending June 30, 1976, each component of the Armed Forces is authorized an end strength for active duty personnel as follows: (1) The Army, 785,000; (3) The Marine Corps, 196,303; (b) The end strength for active duty personnel prescribed in subsection (a) of this section shall be reduced by 9,000. Such reduction shall be apportioned among the Army, Navy, including the Marine Corps, and the Air Force in such numbers as the Secretary of Defense shall prescribe. The Secretary of Defense shall report to Congress within 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act on the manner in which this reduction is to be apportioned among the Armed Forces and shall include the rationale for each reduction. TITLE IV—RESERVE forces SEC. 401. (a) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1975, and ending June 30, 1976, the Selected Reserve of each Reserve component of the Armed Forces shall be programed to attain an average strength of not less than following: (1) The Army National Guard of the United States, 400,000; (2) The Army Reserve, 219,000; (3) The Naval Reserve, 106,000; (4) The Marine Corps Reserve, 32,481; (5) The Air National Guard of the United States, 94,879; (6) The Air Force Reserve, 51,789; (7) The Coast Guard Reserve, 11,700. (b) The average strength prescribed by subsection (a) of this section for the Selected Reserve of any Reserve component shall be proportionately reduced by (1) the total authorized strength of units organized to serve as units of the Selected Reserve of such component which are on active duty (other than for training) at any time during the fiscal year; and (2) the total number of individual members not in units organized to serve as units of the Selected Reserve of such component who are on active duty (other than for training or for unsatisfactory participation in training) without their consent at any time during the fiscal year. Whenever such units or such individual members are released from active duty during any fiscal year, the average strength prescribed for such fiscal year for the Selected Reserve of such Reserve component shall be proportionately increased by the total authorized strength of such units and by the total number of such individual members. TITLE V-CIVILIAN PERSONNEL SEC. 501. (a) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1975, and ending June 30, 1976, the Department of Defense is authorized an end strength for civilian personnel of 1,058,000. (b) The end strength for civilian personnel prescribed in subsection (a) of this section shall be apportioned among the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, including the Marine Corps, the Department of the Air Force, and the agencies of the Department of Defense (other than the military departments) in such numbers as the Secretary of Defense shall prescribe. The Secretary of Defense shall report to the Congress within 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act on the manner in which the allocation of civilian personnel is made among the military departments and the agencies of the Department of Defense (other than the military departments) and shall include the rationale for each allocation. (c) In computing the authorized end strength for civilian personnel there shall be included all direct-hire and indirect-hire civilian personnel employed to perform military functions administered by the Department of Defense (other than those performed by the National Security Agency) whether employed on a full-time, part-time, or intermittent basis, but excluding special employment categories for students and disadvantaged youth such as the stay-in-school campaign, the temporary summer aid program and the Federal junior fellowship program and personnel participating in the worker-trainee opportunity program. Whenever a function, power, or duty, or activity is transferred or assigned to a department or agency of the Department of Defense from a department or agency outside of the Department of Defense or from a department or agency within the Department of Defense, the civilian personnel end strength authorized for such departments or agencies of the Department of Defense affected shall be adjusted to reflect any increases or decreases in civilian personnel required as a result of such transfer or assignment. (d) When the Secretary of Defense determines that such action is necessary in the national interest, he may authorize the employment of civilian personnel in excess of the number authorized by subsection (a) of this section but such additional number may not exceed one-half of one per centum of the total number of civilian personnel authorized for the Department of Defense by subsection (a) of this section. The Secretary of Defense shall promptly notify the Congress of any authorization to increase civilian personnel strength under the authority of this subsection. TITLE VI-MILITARY TRAINING STUDENT LOADS SEC. 601. (a) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1975, and ending June 30, 1976, each component of the Armed Forces is authorized an average military training student load as follows: (1) The Army, 83,101; (2) The Navy, 69,513; (3) The Marine Corps, 26.489; (5) The Army National Guard of the United States, 9,788; |