Posted on 07/10/2009 5:21:04 PM PDT by xzins
WASHINGTON House lawmakers on Thursday blasted a White House decision not to provide money next fiscal year for upgrades to combat-worn equipment, and promised a fight to put billions back into the defense budget.
The House version of the fiscal 2010 defense authorization bill already contains about $20 billion for the repair of equipment worn down by desert conditions and purchase of new gear to replace items destroyed in combat. About $11 billion of the total is for the Army alone.
But thats down more than $2 billion from previous years requests, and doesnt include any funds for things like vehicle armor improvements, new communications equipment or other upgrades. Officials from the Office of Management and Budget said money for those improvements will come from the Armys base budget, and not from the extra overseas contingency funds meant to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli said Tuesday that the directive outlining the funding change effectively cuts any such recapitalization work next year.
"For the most part, adding on upgrades to equipment wont be allowed in FY2010," he said. "I think it makes a lot of sense to upgrade when we can. But the new rules are that we cant do that."
In a statement OMB officials said the move "is part of a long-overdue attempt to rationalize how the Administration requests funding for war, versus non-war programs, forces and activities."
But news of the policy upset lawmakers, who said they were unaware of any limits on equipment reset for next year and were concerned about shortchanging the services.
"If were going to do this on the basis of ... a budget number, as opposed to our obligation to provide what [the services] need, then I have a real dilemma here," said Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii. "I cant say were giving a number that really provides for [the militarys] necessity."
Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., said OMB may have overstepped its boundaries in the directive by limiting how the reset fund can be spent, and said he believes the Army and Marine Corps should receive the money they need for critical readiness upgrades next year.
OMB officials did not provide comment by deadline, but service officials confirmed the overseas contingency operations directive was provided to the Pentagon as part of the budget process earlier this year.
Congress has authorized nearly $70 billion for reset and upgrades of equipment since 2006, money that doesnt include funds to fast-track production of combat necessities like Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles.
Army and Marine Corps officials have said throughout that shortfalls in equipment and repair funding would not endanger troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, since theyre constantly supplied with the best-conditioned vehicles and gear available.
But units training in the States, or those in noncombat units based overseas, have been stuck with older equipment and faced shortfalls in getting up-to-date training equipment.
Chiarelli said hes confident the $11 billion the Army requested for fiscal 2010 about $8 billion for logistics costs and depot maintenance, and $3 billion for procurement and repair is enough to keep missions and training operating smoothly.
"We are able with the funds available to reset equipment," he said. "We understand the tremendous fiscal crisis our country has gone through. As long as we can reset our equipment, we understand that because of fiscal requirements it may be in the best interest of our country as a whole to cut back on recapitalization."
The Marine Corps is expected to receive about $2 billion in reset funds, and the National Guard and Reserve another $7 billion.
Not only ACORN needs more money but also that national police force Zero warned us of as well.
I would encouage all troops in foreign fields to STOP, immediately...Go back to your base of operations and wait, on Obama...
‘CAMOUFLAGE ANGEL’ SPENDS LAST MOMENTS WITH U.S. COMBAT CASUALTIES (TISSUE ALERT):
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2290058/posts
Republicans should go on the warpath about this.
Casualty notification work is heart breaking. I’ve had to knock on a few doors myself. I remember each time. It is gut-wrenching.
Damn the traitors.
God bless you. God bless our warriors.
Damn these treasonous pieces of crap right to Hell.
And I am restraining myself.
God Bless you Xzins for your love and faithfulness.
Let's see that others get home intact.
It ain’t the military or thier families that put this clown in.Nothing will change this nation now, save for a civil war. As long as the likes of zero can get elected by the dregs of society and remain in power with no consequences for thier actions nothing will change. It truly makes me sick.
Ubama would rather dump pork all over his ghettos than equip our warriors properly.
What a sick p.o.s.
I simply can’t get my mind around a decision to cut funding for soldier equipment when in the middle of a war.
I keep thinking “It’s retribution against the troops.” But I can’t hardly make myself believe that. But, why else would anyone do it when they’re spending trillions on non-essentials? What else explains it?
:’D Lurch to the left...
Now I know I heard obama just say the other day on tv ,that the military will have anything necessary...hmmmmm
Ping. The guy is evil, pure and simple.
He used Afghanistan to bash the Bush Administration. It's too early to say that it's not important. But meanwhile he'll starve the effort and then finally pull out, with lots of dead GIs who wouldn't have died if he did it now.
No, he doesn't care.
I hope people start waking up, 444. This is really bad. It is so typical for Democrats to cut back on defense, but in the middle of a war? The War on Terror. (I had to say that because I can’t call the war by it’s new name, it sounds ridiculous).
So, they minimize the name of the war, take away funding for protection and combat, and now they telling the soldiers they can’t fire back.
But, they can blow money on ridiculous stuff and refuse to say where it is going.
What is keeping people from waking up, apathy, pride, lack of this information making it to the MSM?
Best they wake up now. Impeachment would be a good place to start.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2290107/posts
The rules of engagement should be to engage.
Obama: Betraying our troops, again, because his moslem and marxist friends want him to.
TIME FOR IMPEACHMENT FOR TREASON!
but Pelosi gets her money to protect that marsh mouse, oh yes she does.
This is an outrage.
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