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Military Construction Authorization Act

Public Law 94-107 · S. 1247 · 94th Congress · began in the Senate

Signed by Gerald Ford (R) on Oct 7, 1975 · Armed Forces and National Security

Sponsor: Sen. John Stennis (D-MS)

Cosponsors (1): Sen. Mike Gravel

Passage votesYeaNay

  • HouseMethod not stated
  • SenateRecorded vote: 72 yea, 1 nay72–1
Data notes

The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.

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Summary

The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.

Military Construction Authorization Act - =Title I: Army= - Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to establish or develop military installations and facilities by acquiring, constructing, and rehabilitating permanent or temporary public works, including land acquisition, utilities, and equipment for specified acquisition and construction.

Authorizes the Secretary to establish or develop Army installations and facilities by proceeding with construction made necessary by changes in Army missions and responsibilities.

=Title II: Navy= - Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to establish or develop military installations by acquiring, constructing, and rehabilitating permanent or temporary public works, including land acquisition, utilities, and equipment for specified acquisition and construction.

Authorizes the Secretary to establish or develop Navy installations and facilities by proceeding with construction made necessary by changes in Navy missions and responsibilities.

=Title III: Air Force= - Authorizes the Secretary of the Air Force to establish or develop military installations by acquiring, constructing, and rehabilitating permanent or temporary public works, including land acquisition, utilities, and equipment for specified acquisition and construction.

Authorizes the Secretary to establish or develop Air Force installations and facilities by proceeding with construction made necessary by changes in Air Force missions and responsibilities.

=Title IV: Defense Agencies= - Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to establish or develop military installations by acquiring, constructing, and rehabilitating, permanent or temporary public works, including land acquisition, utilities, and equipment for specified acquisition and construction.

=Title V: Military Family Housing= - Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to construct or acquire sole interest in existing family housing units in the numbers and at the locations enumerated in this Act, but no family housing construction shall be commenced at any such locations in the United States until the Secretary shall have consulted with the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development as to the availability of suitable private housing at such locations.

States that with respect to the family housing units authorized to be constructed, the Secretary of Defense is authorized to acquire sole interest in privately owned or Department of Housing and Urban Development held family housing units in lieu of constructing all or a portion of the family housing authorized by this Act.

Sets limits on the cost of housing units which may be acquired.

=Title VI: General Provisions= - Authorizes appropriations as may be necessary for the purposes of this Act, and sets limitations on the appropriations for public works projects authorized by titles I - V.

Provides that any of the amounts specified intitles I, II, and III, and IV of this Act may, in the discretion of the Secretary or Director of the defense agency concerned, be increased by 5 percent when inside the United States (other than Hawaii and Alaska), and by 10 percent when outside the United States or in Hawaii and Alaska, if he determines that such increase is required for the sole purpose of meeting unusual variations in cost, and could not have been reasonably anticipated at the time such estimate was submitted to the Congress. Provides that the total cost of all construction and acquisition in each such title may not exceed the total amount authorized to be appropriated in that title.

Permits real property and associated personal property, which have been determined excess as the result of a defense installation realignment or closure, to be leased to State or local governments pending final disposition of such property, if such action would facilitate State or local economic adjustment.

=Title VII: Guard and Reserve Forces Facilities= - Guard and Reserve Forces Facilities Authorization Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to establish or develop additional facilities for the Guard and Reserve Forces, including the acquisition of land.

Who voted for it

Every senator of the 94th Congress on the ideology compass. Highlighted: the 76 who voted yea on final passage. Faded: everyone else, including those who voted nay, did not vote, or had not yet taken office.

76 yea1 nay23 present or did not vote

Dimension 2
Economic left–right
More liberalMore conservative

Democrats who voted yea(47)

  • Sen. William ProxmireD-WI
  • Sen. Dick ClarkD-IA
  • Sen. Gaylord NelsonD-WI
  • Sen. Mike MansfieldD-MT
  • Sen. George McGovernD-SD
  • Sen. Joseph BidenD-DE
  • Sen. Floyd HaskellD-CO
  • Sen. Lee MetcalfD-MT
  • Sen. John CulverD-IA
  • Sen. Ted KennedyD-MA
  • Sen. Rupert HartkeD-IN
  • Sen. Birch BayhD-IN
  • Sen. Walter MondaleD-MN
  • Sen. Thomas EagletonD-MO
  • Sen. Edmund MuskieD-ME
  • Sen. Fritz HollingsD-SC
  • Sen. Hubert HumphreyD-MN
  • Sen. Stuart SymingtonD-MO
  • Sen. Thomas McIntyreD-NH
  • Sen. Dale BumpersD-AR
  • Sen. Quentin BurdickD-ND
  • Sen. Frank MossD-UT
  • Sen. Claiborne PellD-RI
  • Sen. Dee HuddlestonD-KY
  • Sen. Harrison WilliamsD-NJ
  • Sen. Scoop JacksonD-WA
  • Sen. Warren MagnusonD-WA
  • Sen. Abraham RibicoffD-CT
  • Sen. Wendell FordD-KY
  • Sen. John PastoreD-RI
  • Sen. John GlennD-OH
  • Sen. Howard CannonD-NV
  • Sen. Daniel InouyeD-HI
  • Sen. Robert MorganD-NC
  • Sen. Jennings RandolphD-WV
  • Sen. Lawton ChilesD-FL
  • Sen. Joseph MontoyaD-NM
  • Sen. Dick StoneD-FL
  • Sen. Mike GravelD-AK
  • Sen. Samuel NunnD-GA
  • Sen. John SparkmanD-AL
  • Sen. Russell LongD-LA
  • Sen. Herman TalmadgeD-GA
  • Sen. John StennisD-MS
  • Sen. John McClellanD-AR
  • Sen. Harry ByrdD-VA
  • Sen. James AllenD-AL

Republicans who voted yea(28)

  • Sen. Clifford CaseR-NJ
  • Sen. Edward BrookeR-MA
  • Sen. Richard SchweikerR-PA
  • Sen. Robert StaffordR-VT
  • Sen. Mark HatfieldR-OR
  • Sen. Lowell WeickerR-CT
  • Sen. Hugh ScottR-PA
  • Sen. James PearsonR-KS
  • Sen. John BeallR-MD
  • Sen. Robert PackwoodR-OR
  • Sen. Hiram FongR-HI
  • Sen. Ted StevensR-AK
  • Sen. Milton YoungR-ND
  • Sen. Pete DomeniciR-NM
  • Sen. Robert DoleR-KS
  • Sen. Robert TaftR-OH
  • Sen. Robert GriffinR-MI
  • Sen. Henry BellmonR-OK
  • Sen. Strom ThurmondR-SC
  • Sen. Dewey BartlettR-OK
  • Sen. Roman HruskaR-NE
  • Sen. Jake GarnR-UT
  • Sen. William ScottR-VA
  • Sen. John TowerR-TX
  • Sen. Carl CurtisR-NE
  • Sen. Paul FanninR-AZ
  • Sen. Jesse HelmsR-NC
  • Sen. Barry GoldwaterR-AZ
Data notes

The Senate’s recorded vote on the final version of the law (roll call 425 in Voteview), matched to the vote the record cites and checked against its totals. Positions are each member’s DW-NOMINATE score for that Congress, as on the Ideology page; left to right is more liberal to more conservative. Paired and announced yea votes count as yea. Lists follow the compass, most liberal first. 1 yea vote was cast by members of neither major party and is highlighted on the compass but not listed. A name links to a profile only for members of the current Congress. A law passed by voice vote or unanimous consent has no member list, and neither does a vote Voteview has not yet recorded.

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Committees

The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.

Data notes

A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.

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Timeline

From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 20 actions.

  1. Oct 7, 1975Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
  2. PresidentPresident · Public law 94-107.
  3. Sep 30, 1975PresidentPresident · Measure presented to President.
  4. PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in Senate.
  5. PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in House.
  6. Sep 29, 1975Resolving differencesResolving differences · Senate agreed to conference report, roll call #425 (72-1).Senate roll call 425
  7. Resolving differencesResolving differences · Conference report agreed to in Senate: Senate agreed to conference report, roll call #425 (72-1).Senate roll call 425
  8. Sep 24, 1975Resolving differencesResolving differences · House agreed to conference report.
  9. Resolving differencesResolving differences · Conference report agreed to in House: House agreed to conference report.
  10. Sep 17, 1975Resolving differencesResolving differences · Conference report filed in Senate, S. Rept. 94-376.
  11. Resolving differencesResolving differences · Conference report filed: Conference report filed in Senate, S. Rept. 94-376.
  12. Resolving differencesResolving differences · Conference report filed in House, H. Rept. 94-483.
  13. Resolving differencesResolving differences · Conference report filed: Conference report filed in House, H. Rept. 94-483.
  14. Aug 1, 1975Resolving differencesResolving differences · Conference scheduled in House.
  15. Jul 28, 1975FloorFloor · Measure passed House, amended, in lieu of H.R. 5210.
  16. Jun 9, 1975FloorFloor · Measure passed Senate, amended.
  17. FloorFloor · Measure called up by unanimous consent in Senate.
  18. May 22, 1975CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Armed Services Committee
  19. Mar 19, 1975CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Armed Services Committee
  20. IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the Senate
Data notes

Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.

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Official record

The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.