Pat Dollard | Young Americans

May 28, 2008
Military.com|by Christian Lowe
The Pentagon has asked Congress to shift more than $9 billion from the services budgets to pay for Army and special operations activities in Iraq and Afghanistan, claiming that if more money isn’t appropriated for combat operations by July troops and civilian DoD employees will have to work without a paycheck - and some could be laid off.

The reprogramming request was sent to the congressional armed services committees May 28 after lawmakers were unable to reach a compromise on a wartime supplemental bill before the Memorial Day recess.

According to a Pentagon release, the department has asked to pull $5.7 billion from military personnel accounts of the other services and transfer those funds to the Army in order to pay its troops. Another $4 billion would come from the services operations and maintenance accounts to pay for Army and special operations ammunition, spare parts and other equipment needed for wartime operations.

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The Pentagon claims it needs the transfer to take place by June 9 to keep making Army payrolls.

“Without the ability to transfer these funds, the Army will run out of military personnel funds necessary to pay Soldiers by June 15,” a May 29 Pentagon release said.

The $160 billion wartime supplemental bill intended to pay for the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and the “Global War on Terrorism” through September is mired in a congressional fight over Iraq war policy, new G.I. Bill provisions and other spending tacked onto the bill unrelated to defense funding.

Both the House and Senate have passed their own versions of the supplemental bill - each of which President Bush has vowed to veto - but neither body had reconciled the two bills before recess.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates had warned lawmakers of the pay cuts if more funding wasn’t made available soon, but many saw Gates’ admonitions as tough talk to force lawmakers into action.

Tuesday’s reprogramming request ups the ante in the funding debate as the Pentagon claims even if the $9.7 billion reprogramming request is granted, the department will run out of money by mid-July if lawmakers don’t reach an agreement on a final supplemental bill.

“The department will have exhausted all military personnel and operations funding and will, at a minimum, be unable to make payroll for both the military and civilian personnel throughout the department,” the Pentagon said. “Service members and selected essential civilian employees, including those engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan, would continue to serve, but without pay.”