GovernmentExecutive.com

With House and Senate negotiations on the fiscal 2006 emergency supplemental spending bill still unresolved, the Army has started pinching pennies to make its funding for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan last until at least early July.

The plan, according to an internal e-mail from Army Vice Chief of Staff Richard Cody, is to gradually restrict spending over the next few weeks, with options growing as dire as suspending recruitment efforts and postponing promotions if Congress does not send the supplemental to President Bush for signing before the July 4 congressional recess.

"These are painful actions but they are absolutely necessary in order to continue operations during the month of June," Cody wrote in an e-mail circulated last week, a copy of which was obtained by CongressDaily. "This measured response will provide appropriate controls on our spending of [operations and maintenance] resources and will minimize the impact on our mission."

Resources, he said, should be spent on the "highest priority missions." The service's operations and maintenance accounts for fiscal 2006 now stand at $5.6 billion, not including any budgetary reprogramming efforts. The Army expects to receive more than $36 billion out of the $92 billion-plus spending package for military operations and hurricane recovery efforts.

This week, Army leaders have been ordered to hold orders of any "non-critical" supply parts and postpone or cancel all non-essential travel, training and conferences. By Tuesday, the Army intends to put a freeze on all civilian hires.

"You may continue recruiting efforts but cease all final offers of employment," Cody's e-mail said. If Congress does not pass the supplemental by June 15, the Army plans to release all temporary civilian employees performing operations and maintenance work, including depot workers. The service also will freeze all contract awards and suspend the use of government purchase cards.

The longer the time before the supplemental is approved, the more ominous Cody's instructions become. Beginning June 26, the Army will have to release contract employees, including recruiters, "if doing so will not carry penalties or termination costs equal to or in excess of the cost of continuing the contract," according to the e-mail.

The service, Cody wrote, may retain "a minimum number of personnel performing mission-essential services." That week, Cody said he will demand a list of actions the Army would have to take in July to trim military personnel accounts. Those options should include delaying recruitments, deferring re-enlistments and freezing promotions.

"We are realists on the supplemental passing in June. [The] next backstop where Congress has to try to finish up is 4th [of] July," a senior military official said. "We hope it's in early June, but can't count on that."

Last week, House Appropriations Chairman Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., said the Pentagon would accept delaying passage of the supplemental to early June. House and Senate appropriators still have not scheduled a formal conference meeting amid concerns in the House over Gulf Coast rebuilding and agriculture disaster aid sought by senators.

COMMENTS

• Dear Army, You state, "This has nothing to do with NASCAR, play stations, recreation, etc. This is basic daily sustainment operations integral to all Army organizations." You are wrong! Stop the spending on NASCARs, commissaries, exchanges, officers clubs, PSC costs to move everyone frequently, publications that are only for the grandeur of your officers and you will find the money for your transport needs. Transportation needs is not the problem -- stop funding the Army band and you will have the money for the transportation group! It is a matter of priorities and those of the Army seem to be messed up (as is true for all the services). The services have lost sight of their mission and are spending money on a lot of worthless (from a mission standpoint) things. Congress needs to get involved on a line item basis because the services refuse to do so! Why does the Army need a band (there are many) or a choir when it cannot even afford transportation required to support its mission? Maybe they plan to have the band carry the items to the NASCAR for the required transport. Taxpayer Posted June 8, 2006 10:04 AM
• Taxpayer: Perhaps where you have been, the objective is to get more money with no plan, but not here. Our organization has clearly defined budgets based on the Program Objective Memorandum and the PPBE process. Our primary mission is to provide transportation funding to Army units. This funding, based on Congress' inaction, is curtailed to the point where most day-to-day transportation actions on all Army installations have ceased. This has nothing to do with NASCAR, playstations, recreation, etc. This is basic daily sustainment operations integral to all Army organizations. Don't blame the resource managers in the Army -- blame the party responsible for causing the budget impasse: Congress. Some of us take pride in the financial work that we do for the Army and the support for our outstanding soldiers. Point the blame where it belongs -- write your congressman. I did. Army Logistician Posted June 2, 2006 3:06 PM
• I have worked in military budgeting for more than a decade. The only objective of any military manager is "get more money." They do not have a valid plan for additional funds but they always want to get more money. The objective is not the mission in terms of war; the objective is to get more money. Congress has to reduce the supplemental, which is a military attempt to get more money. Reduce the supplemental and tell the military to reduce its research on weapons development for weapons that are designed to fight another world war. Tell the military to reduce its environmental effort to that required by law -- not by OSD. Tell the military to reduce the landscaping being done on bases around the world so they look good. Tell the military to get rid of its commissaries and exchanges and buy goods from the private sector outlets (particularly in the United States, England and Germany). Tell the military to stop sponsoring NASCAR. Tell the military to stop advertising on network TV especially during prime time. Tell the military to get rid of its band and singers that are useless to a mission of war (also stop buying instruments and paying for trips around the world and for parades). There is plenty of fluff in the military budgets to cover a big part of the supplemental request and the military should be forced to make difficult choices to reduce spending that is nice but unnecessary for me to pay. Rather than direct everyone to "get more money," the cry of the military in funding should be how much could you give up and still do what is legally required and necessary for a war effort. Taxpayer Posted June 2, 2006 7:57 AM