Although it has been a high priority Army program, a number of factors have complicated the RAH-66 Comanche program. Since its inception, the program has been restructured several times–postponing the initial operational capability (IOC) and increasing overall program costs. Presently, there is debate within the Army regarding whether the program should be reduced significantly to make funds available to pursue other modernization priorities.

This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress passes each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Energy and Water. It summarizes the current legislative status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related legislative activity.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO evaluated the military services' and the Department of Defense's (DOD) fiscal year (FY) 1994-1998 operation and maintenance (O&M) budget requests, focusing on: (1) identifying the differences between the amounts Congress initially designated for O&M subactivities, and those DOD reported as obligated for the same subactivities; (2) identifying those O&M subactivities where DOD obligated funds differently than recommended by Congress in each year of the 5-year period GAO examined; and (3) assessing information available to Congress to track DOD's movement of funds among O&M subactivities."