Congress Nears Deal on Budget Resolution as Pentagon Slush Fund Lives On

Budget Conferees are nearing a deal for a budget resolution that will be voted on by the full House and Senate. The House and Senate each passed versions of their budgets and over the last few weeks members of Congress have been working to meld the two together into one overall budget proposal. The good news is that (if passed) this would be the first time in six years that a budget resolution was approved by Congress.

Unfortunately, it isn’t all good news as there are serious problems with the budget including the plan to increase Defense spending.  The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) has been critical of House Armed Services Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) over past remarks intimating that spending caps need to be lifted due to national security concerns, And, both chambers still seem to be addicted to using the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account as a way of getting around spending levels set forth by law.

First the good news.  The budget resolution includes provisions that would::

• Balance the budget in 10 years
• Repeal Obamacare
• Repeal Dodd-Frank
• Reform the current tax structure
• Allow for regular order and appropriations process

In a familiar story, the new GOP-led Congress just can’t say no to more spending for the Department of Defense.  The current agreement being negotiated by House and Senate budget conferees includes more spending than requested and uses the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account (click here and here for previous blogs on OCO) as a slush-fund to get around base budget top lines that have to fall within the budget caps put in place by the Budget Control Act of 2011, and the subsequent Ryan-Murray Budget deal of 2013.

There are many options to cut Pentagon spending that would enhance national security, including::

• $4.9 billion saved by canceling the F-35 and buy a mix of fully functional aircraft
• $1.9 billion saved by canceling the Littoral Combat Ship
• $445.5 million saved by canceling the M1 Abrams Tank, which the Pentagon doesn’t want
• $305 million saved by maintaining FY15 funding for the Missile Defense Agency

It’s time to get rid of the OCO slush fund and eliminate wasteful spending at the Pentagon.  Unfortunately, the budget resolution will be an unlikely venue for that to occur but that doesn’t mean the good things in this bill aren’t worth acknowledging. TPA will continue to call for more responsible spending is all areas of government spending.