The NDAA, which passed the Senate on Dec. 16 by a vote of 86 to 13, nixed $150 million earmarked for the transfer of 8,600 troops from Okinawa to Guam.
It also cut funding from the House’s proposal of $303 million to just $83.6 million for military construction projects on Guam.
While the NDAA cuts another $33 million in funding for civilian infrastructure projects for Guam, Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo fought to bring the funding back during discussion on the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2012.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, or H.R. 2055, passed the House by a vote of 296 to 121 and the Senate by 67 to 32. President Obama has indicated he will sign the legislation, according to Bordallo.
Both the NDAA and H.R. 2055 are sitting on Obama’s desk waiting for his approval.
Japanese officials had earlier announced that it plans to cut expenses for the military realignment after U.S. Congress concluded final negotiations on the NDAA during a conference committee.
During that time, the Japan Defense Ministry and Finance Ministry said it would cut funding from about ¥52 billion ($667 million) to just ¥10 billion ($128 million) for Fiscal Year 2012.
But the Japan government said Saturday it will cut funding even further to just ¥7.3 billion ($93.5 million), the Mainichi Daily News reported.
The Mainichi Daily News also reported that while the Japan government set aside ¥3.7 billion ($47.4 million) for the USMC Futenma Air Station base relocation-related costs, it took out funding for designing and constructing a new base.
As part of the U.S.-Japan 2006 bilateral agreement, the planned realignment of U.S. troops from Okinawa to Guam is contingent upon the relocation of the Futenma Air Station within Okinawa.
The overall expenses for the U.S. military realignment in Japan will decrease to ¥59.92 billion ($768 million) for fiscal year 2012, which is down by 41.6 percent from last fiscal year’s ¥102.65 billion ($1.3 billion), Mainichi Daily News reported.
