Then House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, speaks during a hearing on the FY2019 budget April 12, 2018.

Then House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, speaks during a hearing on the FY2019 budget April 12, 2018. AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Lawmakers Question Pentagon’s Use of ‘Slush Fund’ to Skirt Budget Caps

Almost one-quarter of the 2020 defense budget is in OCO. That's sure to come up when Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan testifies on Thursday.

Nearly one-quarter of the Pentagon’s 2020 budget request would come through an account intended to fund unexpected overseas operations, a fiscal maneuver expected to be the most hotly debated item in upcoming congressional debate.

Pentagon officials said the White House ordered the maneuver, which allows the $750 billion request to skirt a law capping the defense budget at $576 billion. Some $164.6 billion of the total would flow through the Overseas Contingency Operations account, which is exempt from the caps.

If approved, the OCO request would include:

  • $97.9 billion for items that the Pentagon would typically include in its base budget.
  • $25.4 billion for war efforts in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.
  • $41.3 billion for “Enduring in-theater and [stateside] costs that will remain after combat operations end.”

There's also a $9.2 billion fund for “emergency requirements,” such as fixing bases damaged by hurricanes and sections of the wall President Trump wants to build on the U.S. border with Mexico.

The proposal is deeply controversial on Capitol Hill, where both Democrats and Republicans have described it as a “slush fund” designed to skirt budget caps. (Another person who has used the term is Mick Mulvaney, who led the construction of this 2020 budget request as director of the Office of Management and the Budget and acting White House chief of staff. Mulvaney was a leading foe of OCO while a member of the House during the Obama administration.)

On Monday, House Appropriations chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., called it “a massive budgetary gimmick to hide the true cost of this defense spending request.”

Related: Would a $700 Billion Budget Really Sink the Pentagon?

Related: Mattis ‘Optimistic’ Pentagon Will Get Needed Budget from White House, Democrats

Related: 2020 defense spending outlook: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯; Don’t forget the budget caps; more…

Rep. Mac Thornberry, Texas, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, suggested on Tuesday afternoon that the hefty OCO account will be “dismissed” on the Hill.

“I don’t think this was the Pentagon’s idea,” Thornberry told reporters. “It makes the administration, or at least OMB, less relevant in how that defense portion is constructed because everybody knows Congress would never agree to this giant OCO increase on its own.

“I have to confess, the reasoning behind doing it that way is not clear to me,” he added.

The use of OCO, and the dramatic increase in the defense budget overall, does have one powerful ally on the Hill: Senate Armed Services Chairman Jim Inhofe, R-Okla. A staunch ally of the president, Inhofe said in a brief interview that “I’m for doing whatever is necessary to get to the 750,” referring to the administration’s topline $750 billion budget request. Inhofe blamed opposition to the idea of using OCO largely on House Democrats — Thornberry and others notwithstanding.

“If it's necessary to use OCO for the purpose of getting what we know we have to have for our budget, then I would be for doing it,” Inhofe said. “I know that it's set up for a different purpose and there's a lot of opposition, but if you look at the opposition, a lot of the opposition comes from [House Armed Services chair Adam Smith, D-Wash.] and some of the liberal Democrats that are in control over in the House.”

Inhofe said last year that he sees his role as SASC chair as getting Pentagon leaders all the money they want: “I try not to get into debates with people on the threat that they view. What I can do is say, okay, if that threat is correct, these are the resources we need.”

While briefing reporters on Tuesday, acting Defense Department Comptroller Elaine McCusker blamed OMB for the heavy reliance on OCO.

“From our perspective, we built a budget that is required to carry out the National Defense Strategy,” McCusker said. “The decision on how to best finance that budget was made by OMB and something that we followed their direction on.”

McCusker also argued that the OCO budget receives just as much scrutiny and oversight from OMB and Congress as the Pentagon’s so-called base budget. She promised “a significant amount of transparency” to lawmakers.

“Congress will have everything that it needs to do its analysis and understand what we've done and why with our OCO budget,” she said.

Perhaps the biggest sticking point of the $9.2 billion “emergency budget request” will be $3.6 billion to extend barriers on America’s southern border and another $3.6 billion to backfill any military construction projects put on hold to build such walls. Democrats, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., have cast the Trump’s signature campaign promise as “immoral.” Even some Republicans who broadly support building more barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border are uncomfortable with the use of military funds to do so.

“I’m for building a wall—physical barriers can contribute to border security—but I think it ought to be funded on its own,” Thornberry said. “So don’t take the wall money out of the minimum you need for defense, is where I am.”

The Senate is also poised to vote on an embarrassing resolution overturning Trump’s declaration of emergency to build the wall. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan is scheduled to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.