Kay Bailey Hutchison: “I am very pleased to bring forward for the Senate's consideration the fiscal year 2005 Military Construction…”

“I am very pleased to bring forward for the Senate's consideration the fiscal year 2005 Military Construction appropriations bill. I am also pleased to be joined by the ranking member of the Military Construction Subcommittee, Senator Feinstein from California. We have worked very closely on this bill. That has been our tradition. We have never had a problem with our Military Construction bill. Frankly, we have done some very important work and begun to help the Department of Defense shape the military for the future. Our bill provides, including $5.3 billion for military construction, $4.2 billion for military family housing; $166 million for NATO infrastructure, and $246 million for base realignment and closure costs. Although the military construction needs continue to exceed resources available, I am very pleased that the bill provides a significant increase over last year's funding. I believe the bill we have on the floor today attends both to the President's most pressing priorities and to the concerns of Senators.”