Summary: FY 2023 department of defense appropriations bill
This analysis was prepared by Venable, LLP, on behalf of AACOM.
On June 30, 2022, the House Appropriations Committee approved the FY 2023 Department of Defense Appropriations bill by a vote of 32-26. For FY2023, the bill provides $761.681 billion in discretionary spending, which is an increase of $33.209 billion above FY 2022.
Military Medical Manpower-—The Committee notes that after further review of several factors, including national defense scenarios and the response to the COVID–19 pandemic, the number of billets the Services seek to eliminate from FY 2023 through FY 2025 has been modified and reduced. No funding was requested in the FY 2023 President’s Budget Request for the mitigation of reductions to military medical billets. Each of the Services have presented a plan to reduce billets over the coming years, leaving the Defense Health Agency with the responsibility of backfilling those lost positions with civilian or contracted medical support. The Committee remains concerned about servicemember readiness and beneficiary care and is troubled that the Services’ desire to shed billets is out of balance with survivability requirements in a potential conflict with a near-peer adversary and the obligation to beneficiaries of the military health system. Therefore, the Committee directs the Services’ Surgeons General to submit vacancy rates by occupational code to the congressional defense committees on a monthly basis, with the first report being submitted not later than 60 days after the enactment of this funding bill.
Additionally, the Director, Defense Health Agency is directed to submit to the congressional defense committees not later than 120 days after the enactment of the funding bill, a detailed staffing plan, by market, location and type of civilian or contract personnel required, along with a categorization of effort the Defense Health Agency will undergo in recruiting and hiring in those locations for those specific providers. Furthermore, Director of the Defense Health Agency is directed to submit to the congressional defense committees on a quarterly basis, with the first report being submitted the quarter following enactment of this Act, vacancy rates among military and civilian medical personnel by location and specialty.
National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) Pilot and Joint Civilian-Military Medical Surge Capacity—The bill provides $19,640,000 in FY 2023 for the Department of Defense to continue development of a joint civilian-military modular surge capacity and capability to include an additional training function in partnership with the NDMS. This type of modular medical surge and training capacity should be adjacent to existing medical facilities and should include laboratories, intensive care units, and x-rays, and should leverage staff and services available in the adjacent medical facility. The medical surge and training capacity should allow for research and development of best practices for preparedness and response and include transportable clinical response functionality. Funding should be used to initiate facility requirements, including transportable clinical functionality, procurement of needed equipment and supplies, and development and implementation of a full complement of training curriculum and functionality necessary to activate or scale the surge capacity.
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