Military Construction

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) construction activities for fiscal year (FY) 1990, focusing on: (1) the DOD FY 1991 budget request for military construction; (2) DOD construction financing regulations; (3) the background of the requested funding for the large blast thermal simulator at two military facilities; and (4) whether the funding classification for selected repair projects estimated to cost over $500,000 each is proper.

GAO found that: (1) the DOD budget request totalled $15 billion in FY 1991 for funds related to military construction, $12.1 billion represented military construction related funds, and $2.9 billion represented such items as repair projects of $200,000 or less and some maintenance and minor construction not included in the schedule of funds related to military construction; (2) military construction funds are provided in the military construction appropriation, and other statutes authorize DOD to use financing alternatives for some construction if specific requirements are met; (3) research and development financing for the large blast thermal simulator at the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, and the climatic laboratory at the Eglin Air Force Base, Florida was requested, but military construction funds financed both projects, in compliance with statutory provisions and DOD policies that require general use facilities to be financed with military construction funds; and (4) the six repair projects reviewed are appropriately classified in accordance with DOD policies and DOD officials are discussing policy revisions that would call for financing future high-cost repair projects from military construction funds instead of operations and maintenance funds.