Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 118.djvu/2186

 118 STAT. 2156 PUBLIC LAW 108–375—OCT. 28, 2004 cost to the United States, of a veterans memorial at the former installation. SEC. 2896. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING EFFECT OF MILITARY HOUSING POLICIES AND FORCE STRUCTURE AND BASING CHANGES ON LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES. (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: (1) There are approximately 750,000 school aged children of members of the active duty Armed Forces in the United States. (2) Approximately 650,000 of those students are currently attending public elementary or secondary schools in the United States. (3) Changes to the military family housing policies of the military departments affect both military housing requirements and the number of dependent children living on military installations in the United States. (4) Proposed restationing of units of the Armed Forces worldwide, including the return of a significant number of members of the Armed Forces stationed overseas to the United States and the Army proposal to modify its force structure to establish so called units of action, will increase military housing requirements at military installations in the United States and may result in the need for additional educational facilities at such installations and in the adjacent communities. (5) To help provide sufficient housing for members of the Armed Forces and their families, the Secretaries of the military departments intend to continue to use the authorities provided in subchapter IV of chapter 169 of title 10, United States Code, to carry out privatization initiatives that will improve or replace an additional 120,000 military family housing units in the United States. (6) The Secretaries of the military departments may include the construction of school facilities as one of the ancillary supporting facilities authorized as part of a privatization initia tive carried out under such subchapter. (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress that the Department of Defense should— (1) consider the effects that changes in force structure and overseas stationing arrangements will have on— (A) military housing requirements at specific military installations in the United States; (B) the number of school aged military dependents at those installations; and (C) the need for additional educational facilities to serve such dependents; and (2) consult with local communities and local educational agencies about the best ways to address such changing housing requirements and satisfy the need for additional educational facilities, including using the authority of subchapter IV of chapter 169 of title 10, United States Code, to include the construction of educational facilities as one of the ancillary supporting facilities authorized as part of military privatization housing initiatives.

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