February 15, 2011Gates warns of ‘crisis' if 2011 budget not passed
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned of a looming "crisis" should Congress not pass a fiscal year 2011 Pentagon spending measure in the coming weeks.
Speaking to reporters Monday at the Pentagon upon rolling out the 2012 budget proposal, Gates offered to shrink DoD's 2011 spending request $8 billion, in an attempt to advance the measure, which has been stalled on Capitol Hill for several months.
DoD has been operating under a continuing resolution for nearly five months. That measure limits Pentagon spending at $526 billion. The department requested $549 billion. Gates said Monday that DoD could get by with a $540 billion appropriation.
"I raise this point today because I am concerned that the debate over the defense budget in recent days and weeks is becoming increasingly distant from strategic and operational reality — distant, in other words, from the real world," he said. "In fact, suggestions to cut defense by this or that large number have largely become exercises in simple math, divorced from serious considerations of capabilities, risks and the level of resources needed to protect this country's security and vital interests around the world."
The $540 billion would be used "for the U.S. military to properly carry out its mission, maintain readiness and prepare for the future," Gates said. Without this spending measure, complications in funding DoD-related activities "may soon turn into a crisis."
Pentagon Comptroller Robert Hale echoed Gates' sentiment noting that if a continuing resolution were in place all year, "bad things would occur."
"We won't have enough funds to meet our national security commitments, in our view," Hale said during a briefing after Gates. "We won't have enough flexibility — for example, we can't have any new starts under this CR, nor can we have any increases in procurement rates."
The continuing resolution is already delaying 50 major military construction projects and is leading to "inefficient management," according to Hale. Contractors are building up a backlog under the continuing resolution since the Pentagon cannot execute some contracts.
"This is a bad idea," he said. "It's a bad way to budget. We need an appropriations bill as soon as possible."
Although House lawmakers introduced a new 2011 defense spending measure late last week, Hale said the Pentagon is "concerned that the funding levels in that bill are quite low," even though the top line is higher than the continuing resolution.
Lawmakers proposed cuts primarily to the Overseas Contingency Operations portions of the budget — money used directly for combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq — citing under-execution of funds in 2010. Although Hale acknowledged this might be the case again in 2011, it is too early to tell. The House measure would also limit DoD's ability to meet urgent operational needs.
While the Pentagon's 2011 budget request remains in limbo, DoD unveiled a $671 billion 2012 budget request on Monday. The figure includes Overseas Contingency Operations funding for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
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http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20110215/AGENCY01/102150301/
Speaking to reporters Monday at the Pentagon upon rolling out the 2012 budget proposal, Gates offered to shrink DoD's 2011 spending request $8 billion, in an attempt to advance the measure, which has been stalled on Capitol Hill for several months.
DoD has been operating under a continuing resolution for nearly five months. That measure limits Pentagon spending at $526 billion. The department requested $549 billion. Gates said Monday that DoD could get by with a $540 billion appropriation.
"I raise this point today because I am concerned that the debate over the defense budget in recent days and weeks is becoming increasingly distant from strategic and operational reality — distant, in other words, from the real world," he said. "In fact, suggestions to cut defense by this or that large number have largely become exercises in simple math, divorced from serious considerations of capabilities, risks and the level of resources needed to protect this country's security and vital interests around the world."
The $540 billion would be used "for the U.S. military to properly carry out its mission, maintain readiness and prepare for the future," Gates said. Without this spending measure, complications in funding DoD-related activities "may soon turn into a crisis."
Pentagon Comptroller Robert Hale echoed Gates' sentiment noting that if a continuing resolution were in place all year, "bad things would occur."
"We won't have enough funds to meet our national security commitments, in our view," Hale said during a briefing after Gates. "We won't have enough flexibility — for example, we can't have any new starts under this CR, nor can we have any increases in procurement rates."
The continuing resolution is already delaying 50 major military construction projects and is leading to "inefficient management," according to Hale. Contractors are building up a backlog under the continuing resolution since the Pentagon cannot execute some contracts.
"This is a bad idea," he said. "It's a bad way to budget. We need an appropriations bill as soon as possible."
Although House lawmakers introduced a new 2011 defense spending measure late last week, Hale said the Pentagon is "concerned that the funding levels in that bill are quite low," even though the top line is higher than the continuing resolution.
Lawmakers proposed cuts primarily to the Overseas Contingency Operations portions of the budget — money used directly for combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq — citing under-execution of funds in 2010. Although Hale acknowledged this might be the case again in 2011, it is too early to tell. The House measure would also limit DoD's ability to meet urgent operational needs.
While the Pentagon's 2011 budget request remains in limbo, DoD unveiled a $671 billion 2012 budget request on Monday. The figure includes Overseas Contingency Operations funding for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
read full article @
http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20110215/AGENCY01/102150301/
