UC Santa Cruz UC Santa Cruz Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Fighting Green: How Congress and the Pentagon Make Defense Policy Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2829x9tp Author Blakeley, Katherine Publication Date 2017 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ 4.0 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ FIGHTING GREEN: HOW CONGRESS AND THE PENTAGON MAKE DEFENSE POLICY A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in POLITICS with an emphasis in ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES by KATHERINE BLAKELEY December 2017 The Dissertation of Katherine Blakeley is approved: Professor Daniel Wirls, chair Professor Eva Bertram Professor Daniel Press ____________________________ Tyrus Miller Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies © Copyright 2017 Katherine Blakeley This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Table of Contents FIGHTING GREEN: HOW CONGRESS AND THE PENTAGON MAKE DEFENSE POLICY ........ i Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................ iii Table of Figures .................................................................................................................................. vi Abstract ............................................................................................................................................. viii Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................. x Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 1 Literature Review ............................................................................................................................ 7 Section I: Congress and Defense Policy-Making .................................................................................. 26 Chapter 2: The National Defense Authorization Act and Defense Policymaking .................................. 27 Authorizations and Appropriations Bills ........................................................................................... 27 Origins of the NDAA ......................................................................................................................... 33 The Growth of the Early NDAA: 1961 – 1967 ................................................................................. 42 Shift from Deference to Contention, 1967-1978 ............................................................................... 45 Defense Committees as Budgeteers or Policy Makers? 1978 – 1987 ........................................... 47 The Modern NDAA: 1987 – Present ............................................................................................ 50 NDAA Timeline & Process ........................................................................................................... 55 The NDAA and Defense Policymaking ........................................................................................ 66 Chapter 3: How Congress Makes Defense Policy – Four Defense Energy Case Studies ..................... 75 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 75 Nuclear-Powered Surface Combatants .............................................................................................. 78 Operational Energy ............................................................................................................................ 94 The Department of Defense Energy Security Act ............................................................................ 118 Alternative fuels ............................................................................................................................... 135 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 149 Chapter 4: How Congress Makes Defense Policy –Quantitative Analysis .......................................... 161 Quantitative Analysis ....................................................................................................................... 163 All Provisions .............................................................................................................................. 166 Enacted into Law ......................................................................................................................... 169 Unsuccessful Provisions .............................................................................................................. 174 What Characterizes Defense Policymaking in the NDAA? ............................................................. 176 Spending ...................................................................................................................................... 178 Studies and Oversight .................................................................................................................. 180 Policymaking ............................................................................................................................... 182 Incrementalism ............................................................................................................................ 184 iii Controversiality ........................................................................................................................... 186 Enhancing National Security ....................................................................................................... 192 The Process of Defense Policymaking in the NDAA ...................................................................... 195 The Importance of HASC and SASC .......................................................................................... 195 The Power of the Floor Managers ............................................................................................... 198 The Role of the Conference Committee ...................................................................................... 200 Partisanship, Politics, and Support for DOD Energy Provisions ................................................ 203 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 216 Section II: DOD and Implementation .................................................................................................. 220 Chapter 5: DOD's Energy Initiatives, 1973-2003 ................................................................................. 221 History of DOD and Energy ............................................................................................................ 225 Arab Oil Embargo and OPEC Price Increases, 1973-1974 ......................................................... 225 The Turbulent late 1970s and 1980s ........................................................................................... 244 Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, August 1990 – March 1991 .......................................... 247 Energy and Environment in the 1990s and early 2000s .............................................................. 256 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 268 Chapter 6: The Pentagon’s Shifting Energy Use ................................................................................. 270 DOD’s Total Energy Use ................................................................................................................. 270 Installation Energy ...................................................................................................................... 270 Petroleum Fuels ........................................................................................................................... 282 Energy in the Military Services ....................................................................................................... 287 Army ............................................................................................................................................ 290 Navy ............................................................................................................................................ 293 Marine Corps ............................................................................................................................... 297 Air Force ..................................................................................................................................... 300 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 305 Chapter 7: Congress’ Impact on the Pentagon’s Energy Culture ......................................................... 309 Policy ............................................................................................................................................... 313 Defense Energy Plan .......................................................................................................................