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CONTENTS
DEFENSE: OBAMA SUBMITS PLAN TO PAY FOR TROOPS
By Megan Scully
The White House has asked Congress to allow the transfer of more than $1
billion in FY10 war-related funding to pay for adding 15,000 soldiers to
the Army next year.
As part of a detailed budget amendment sent to Capitol Hill Thursday,
President Obama stressed the additional soldiers are necessary to alleviate
stress on the heavily deployed force and end the military's "stop-loss"
policy that has forced troops who have reached the end of their tours to
remain on active duty indefinitely.
The temporary expansion in the size of the Army, which will grow by as
many as 22,000 soldiers, will "increase the number of troops available to
deploy while helping the Army to end the practice retaining soldiers beyond
their period of obligated service," Obama said in a letter to House Speaker
Pelosi.
Under the proposal sent to the Hill, the $1 billion needed to pay for the
added soldiers would come from "lower-priority" requirements that are "no
longer needed at the current time due to changed circumstances because
sufficient resources exist to protect United States personnel," Obama
wrote.
In correspondence between OMB Director Orszag and Obama, a copy of which
was forwarded to Pelosi, the budget chief wrote that the bulk of the money
to pay for the troops -- $700.6 million -- would be transferred from within
the Army's war spending accounts, including funding for vehicles.
"This offset reduces your initial request for trucks and tactical
vehicles, due to delays in contract awards and the large backlog of
production," Orszag told Obama. "It also reduces your initial request for
Humvees due to the Army's reassessment of the requirement for Mine
Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles."
In addition, Orszag said, Iraqi security forces have assumed more
responsibility for operations, which allows U.S. forces to scale back
operations faster than expected and frees up money for the increase in
personnel.
The administration's request to Congress includes permission to shift $156
million from Navy and Marine Corps procurement accounts -- including
weapons, ammunition and support equipment -- to help cover the cost of the
Army personnel expansion.
"In each case, the department's latest assessment is that existing
resources, including funds provided in the FY 2009 supplemental
appropriations, are sufficient to satisfy the immediate need," Orszag said.
Another $156 million to pay for additional troops would be come from the
Air Force's aircraft procurement request. That includes $124.4 million from
a program known as the C-130 Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures
modifications, which Orszag said is already at maximum capacity.
After Defense Secretary Gates last month announced plans to temporarily
boost the Army's size, House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman
John Murtha, D-Pa., criticized the administration's plans to pay for the
additional troops by moving around funds requested for next year.
"I told them I didn't want to see a reprogramming," he said. "That is
unacceptable. You can't find that kind of money. If you do find that kind
of money, then they sent up a bad budget."
The White House request comes well after the July 30 House passage of its
FY10 Defense spending measure, which means lawmakers will need to resolve
the funding issue during conference negotiations with the Senate on a final
bill.
http://www.nationaljournal.com/congressdai...090814_5832.php