Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 111 Part 3.djvu/656

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Ill STAT. 2744 CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS-JUNE 5, 1997 of the Air Force, and the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft program for the Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps; (2) the General Accounting Office, the Congressional Budget Office, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology, and several Members of Congress have publicly stated that, given the current Department of Defense budget for procurement, the Department of Defense's original plan to buy over 4,400 F/A-18 E/F aircraft, F-22 aircraft, and Joint Strike Fighter aircraft at a total program cost in excess of $350,000,000,000 was not affordable; (3) the F/A-18 E/F, F-22, and the Joint Strike Fighter tactical fighter programs will be competing for a limited amount of procurement funding with numerous other aircraft acquisition programs, including the Comanche helicopter program, the V-22 Osprey aircraft program, and the C-17 aircraft program, as well as for the necessary replacement of other aging aircraft such as the KC-135, the C-5A, the F-117, and the EA-6B aircraft; and (4) the 1997 Department of Defense Quadrennial Defense Review has recommended reducing the F/A-18 E/F program buy from 1,000 aircraft to 548, and reducing the F-22 program buy from 438 to 339. (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.— It is the sense of the Senate that the provisions of this resolution assume that, within 30 days, the Department of Defense should transmit to Congress detailed information pertaining to the implementation of this revised acquisition strategy so that the Congress can adequately evaluate the extent to which the revised acquisition strategy is tenable and affordable given the projected spending levels contained in this budget resolution. SEC. 313. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING CHILDREN'S HEALTH COVERAGE. (a) FINDINGS. —The Senate finds that— (1) of the estimated 10 million uninsured children in the United States, over 1.3 million have at least one parent who is self-employed and all other uninsured children are dependents of persons who are employed by another, or unemployed; (2) these 1.3 million uninsured kids comprise approximately 22 percent of all children with self-employed parents, and they are a significant 13 percent of all uninsured children; (3) the remaining uninsured children are in families where neither parent is self-employed and comprise 13 percent of all children in families where neither parent is self-employed; (4) children in families with a self-employed parent are therefore more likely to be uninsured than children in families where neither parent is self-employed; and (5) the current disparity in the tax law reduces the affbrdability of health insurance for the self-employed and their families, hmdering the ability of children to receive essential primary and preventive care services. (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE. —I t is the sense of the Senate that the provisions of this resolution assume that from resources available in this budget resolution, a portion should be set aside for an immediate 100 percent deductibility of health insurance costs for the self-employed. Full-deductibility of health expenses for the