Pentagon to shuffle funds while waiting for supplemental
As House and Senate appropriators aim to complete an $82 billion fiscal 2005 Iraq supplemental agreement tonight, the Pentagon has notified lawmakers of its intent to reshuffle $1.1 billion to cover Army shortfalls until the bill is signed by President Bush.
Lawmakers must approve the Pentagon request, along with additional transfer authority, as part of the supplemental. The action comes after Defense Secretary Rumsfeld told lawmakers in a letter last week that, without swift approval of the supplemental, the Pentagon would "have to urgently move funds, seriously disrupting other activities" and possibly invoke a special law that allows the services to incur costs for food, fuel, medical supplies and other needs in excess of available funds.
That authority was last invoked after the Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia in 1996, although it was never used.
Lawmakers and staff continued Tuesday to work on final details of the supplemental conference report -- including finding offsets for nearly $500 million in additional border protection funds requested by the Senate and resolving disputes over earmarks within Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee accounts backed by Senate Minority Leader Reid and Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M.
In the interim, the Pentagon's decision is necessary as "the Army is in near-term risk of having to stop essential activities both stateside and overseas," Pentagon Comptroller Tina Jonas wrote Monday to the chairmen and ranking members of the Defense Appropriations subcommittees and Armed Services committees. "The impact would be a serious disruption to Army activities across-the-board, including training, facility maintenance, equipment maintenance and preparations for the next rotations to Iraq and Afghanistan," the letter continues. Accompanying documents say that despite taking actions to slow spending, the Army does not have enough money to continue operating through May.
The reshuffling would come in three parts. First, the Pentagon would transfer $334.3 million in previously enacted fiscal 2005 Defense appropriations funds from Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps personnel accounts to fund Army operations and maintenance.
The funds would cover an array of functions, including salaries for civilian employees, utilities and municipal services, and ongoing military operations. Second, $500 million to fund Army operations and maintenance would be transferred from Army National Guard personnel accounts, which the Pentagon said would have to be replenished following enactment of the supplemental.
Third, $250 million in operations and maintenance funds, including $188 million for training and recruiting, would be transferred from Army Defense Working Capital Funds, which are used to buy low-cost, high-quality goods and services for armed forces personnel. That money also will have to be replenished, as the reduction would bring the capital fund below the desired amount necessary for a 7-to-10 day cash reserve.