This move is expected to delay the military’s plan to transfer U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam.
The bill passed by a vote of 93 to 7. The U.S. House version of the bill, H.R. 1540, was passed in May 2011. The two measures must now be reconciled in conference committee before it is sent to President Obama for his signature.
Bordallo said Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain’s amendment calling for a commission to study the U.S. force posture in the Pacific and East Asia is “unnecessary and may have significant negative implications on our national security.”
She said the Obama administration “understands the current security environment in our region, and the president’s recent statement of administration policy reinforces the House’s position that we must move forward with the realignment — as agreed to in the Guam International Agreement. The House and Senate versions of the NDAA will now be reconciled in conference committee, and I will work to ensure provisions which are important to Guam are protected.”
The bill prohibits the authorization of funds for the realignment of U.S. Marine Corps forces from Okinawa to Guam, until the commandant of the Marine Corps provides an updated “force lay-down.”
The secretary of Defense must submit a master plan to Congress detailing construction costs and schedule of all projects necessary to realize the commandant’s force lay-down and certify to Congress that tangible progress has been made to relocate Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.
The bill also requires DOD to study the feasibility of relocating Air Force assets at Kadena Air Base on Okinawa and moving Marine Corps aviation assets on Okinawa to Kadena Air Base, rather than building an expensive replacement facility elsewhere on the island.
The Senate bill mandates a reduction of more than $26 billion from the administration’s Defense budget request to terminate troubled, wasteful, or unnecessary programs and activities, as well as to reduce other Defense expenditures in light of the nation’s budget-deficit problems.
