Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
National Journal's CongressDailyAM
February 12, 2008 The military's reliance on war-related supplemental spending bills to buy new equipment has increased dramatically since the launch of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, becoming a major driver behind the growth of emergency spending packages, CBO reported Monday.
Its analysis of funding trends, requested by Senate Budget Chairman Conrad, found that procurement funding in supplemental appropriations bills rose from $10 billion in FY03 to $51 billion in FY07.
For this fiscal year, the Pentagon has requested $72 billion in emergency spending for new equipment, $26 billion of which has been appropriated. The remaining amount constitutes a large chunk of the additional $102.5 billion supplemental appropriations package Congress expects to take up in the next few months.
The sharp increase in procurement funding accounted for over half of the total growth in war-related appropriations in FY07, and will account for roughly 90 percent of the increase in war expenditures this year if Congress approves the Defense Department's request, according to CBO.
The growth can be explained in part because the Defense Department has "loosened its criteria for the types of programs whose funding could be requested in supplemental budget submissions," the report said.
Between FY02 and FY04, the Pentagon largely limited procurement requests to the replacement of equipment damaged or destroyed in the field and the purchase of other gear that satisfied urgent wartime requirements.
But by 2005, the Pentagon started requesting emergency dollars for "longer-term efforts," including the reorganizing of Army and Marine Corps units, CBO said.
Shortly before sending the FY07 supplemental spending request to Capitol Hill, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England told the military services to include in their requests costs associated with the broader war on terrorism -- a move that more than doubled the size of procurement accounts in the emergency spending bill over FY06 figures.
"Most of the increase in war-related appropriations for procurement is a result of DOD's efforts to 'reconstitute' the military, protect deployed forces, and increase the size of the military," the report concludes.
The Army, which has the largest number of forces deployed, "has been the main recipient of the funds in each of those categories," CBO noted. For example, Army funding to modernize tanks and armored vehicles tripled between FY05 and FY07, while the service's accounts for communications and intelligence-gathering systems increased four-fold.
But the upward trend in using supplemental funds to cover procurement costs is not exclusive to the Army.
All of the services, CBO observed, have seen significant increases in procurement funding -- particularly to their aircraft accounts, which rose from $1 billion in FY05 to $10 billion requested in FY08 to pay for an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, F/A-18 fighter jets, C-130J cargo planes and other aircraft.
By Megan Scully
February 12, 2008 The military's reliance on war-related supplemental spending bills to buy new equipment has increased dramatically since the launch of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, becoming a major driver behind the growth of emergency spending packages, CBO reported Monday.
Its analysis of funding trends, requested by Senate Budget Chairman Conrad, found that procurement funding in supplemental appropriations bills rose from $10 billion in FY03 to $51 billion in FY07.
For this fiscal year, the Pentagon has requested $72 billion in emergency spending for new equipment, $26 billion of which has been appropriated. The remaining amount constitutes a large chunk of the additional $102.5 billion supplemental appropriations package Congress expects to take up in the next few months.
The sharp increase in procurement funding accounted for over half of the total growth in war-related appropriations in FY07, and will account for roughly 90 percent of the increase in war expenditures this year if Congress approves the Defense Department's request, according to CBO.
The growth can be explained in part because the Defense Department has "loosened its criteria for the types of programs whose funding could be requested in supplemental budget submissions," the report said.
Between FY02 and FY04, the Pentagon largely limited procurement requests to the replacement of equipment damaged or destroyed in the field and the purchase of other gear that satisfied urgent wartime requirements.
But by 2005, the Pentagon started requesting emergency dollars for "longer-term efforts," including the reorganizing of Army and Marine Corps units, CBO said.
Shortly before sending the FY07 supplemental spending request to Capitol Hill, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England told the military services to include in their requests costs associated with the broader war on terrorism -- a move that more than doubled the size of procurement accounts in the emergency spending bill over FY06 figures.
"Most of the increase in war-related appropriations for procurement is a result of DOD's efforts to 'reconstitute' the military, protect deployed forces, and increase the size of the military," the report concludes.
The Army, which has the largest number of forces deployed, "has been the main recipient of the funds in each of those categories," CBO noted. For example, Army funding to modernize tanks and armored vehicles tripled between FY05 and FY07, while the service's accounts for communications and intelligence-gathering systems increased four-fold.
But the upward trend in using supplemental funds to cover procurement costs is not exclusive to the Army.
All of the services, CBO observed, have seen significant increases in procurement funding -- particularly to their aircraft accounts, which rose from $1 billion in FY05 to $10 billion requested in FY08 to pay for an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, F/A-18 fighter jets, C-130J cargo planes and other aircraft.
By Megan Scully