Army Chief of Staff: “The Military Construction Bill Must Pass Now”
House Democratic leaders plan to consider a huge stopgap spending measure next week to fund most government programs through Sept. 30. House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., told lawmakers that the measure would be on the House floor Jan. 31. He said negotiations were under way with Senate leaders of both parties to reach agreement on a funding package that could last through the rest of this fiscal year, using the fiscal 2006 spending level as a baseline.
The Senate will take up the spending package the week of Feb. 5, according to an aide. While this does not affect the fiscal 2007 defense appropriations or authorization bills (they were passed by the 109th Congress and signed into law) it has an enormous effect on the fiscal 2007 military construction bill.
In a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee this week, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker testified that Congress’ failure to pass the military construction spending bill has jeopardized “our ability to grow the force to meet rotation requirements,”
“Not getting this MILCON budget is going to affect the stationing and the conversion of three brigades at Fort Bliss, Texas. And I was just out there looking at it, and the ground’s all been pushed around, the foundations are starting to go in. But it’s going to stop because they don’t have the money,” he said.
Other specific construction projects that will stop include consolidating the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Italy, the growth and stationing of the 7th Special Forces Group at Eglin Air Force Basin, Florida.
“We have developed a carefully synchronized, closely knitted stationing plan to enable us to meet our global commitments while fighting the long war.” Gen. Schoomaker added, “It will impact 42 barracks complexes. …It will affect 30 training and training support facilities. It will affect 46 operations and maintenance facilities. It will affect approximately 90 reserve component facilities in 45 states. It will affect over 5,000 homes in family housing and 16 child development and youth centers, affecting approximately 4,000 children.”
He testified that he and Army Secretary Francis Harvey have sent a letter to Congress urging action on the bill. “We need Congress to pass the appropriations bill or amend the continuing resolution language to permit execution of all military construction and BRAC projects requested in the 2007 president’s budget.”
AUSA President Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, USA, Ret., also sent a letter to key lawmakers. Not only did he stress the need to immediately pass the bill, he also emphasized how serious it would be to freeze military construction at the fiscal 2006 level.
Please add your voice to ours. Go to the AUSA website, www.ausa.org, click on “Contact Congress”, type in your zip code beside “Elected Officials”, and scroll down to “Fix the Military Construction Shortfall.”
$70 Billion to Increase Active Force
The Army put the cost of increasing the active force to 547,000 soldiers at $70 billion over the next five years.
Gen. Schoomaker told the House Armed Services Committee that the Army budget rises $1.2 billion for every 10,000 soldiers it recruits, trains and equips. “What we are asking is that Americans make a decision about priorities,” he said.
He added, “Recent decisions to expand the Army reflect a clear recognition of the dangers we face and the strain that five years of sustained demand have placed on the all-volunteer force.”
“Our goal is to provide a continuous supply of 20 to 21 brigade combat teams to meet global commitments. We remain committed to generating all-cohesive units that are fully manned, trained and equipped -- that are fully ready for the challenges they will face.”
That commitment includes training and equipping the reserve components. “We must fully enable them to perform their new role as an integral part of our operational, deployable force.”
He said that Guardsmen and Reservists will now be mobilized for one year and much of their pre-deployment training will be done on home station. They will also be called up as units.
Gen. Schoomaker added, “The immediate challenge lies with the readiness of non-deployed forces,” in part, because of a shortage of equipment.
He told the committee that the continuing operations in Afghanistan and Iraq have had an impact on training and equipment. “What America needs to do is realize that we can fulfill the national strategy, but … it will take more time and it will also [produce] increased casualties to do the job.”
He said the Army has obligated to spend $10 billion -- of the $17 billion in the supplemental spending bill -- to repair and replace equipment. He estimated that the Army will need at least $13.5 billion in the next fiscal year to repair and replace equipment.
As he previously testified, Gen. Schoomkaer said that before the war on terrorism began, the Army’s shortfall in buying equipment was $100 billion against required needs. He said the shortfall now stands at $56 billion.
He also testified again that even if current operations ended the Army would still need two to three years to rebuild or replace war-damaged equipment.
TRICARE! TRICARE! TRICARE!
In his monthly President’s Corner (located on AUSA’s website, www.ausa.org), Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan said, “I am troubled about the latest signals coming from the Pentagon, signals that indicate their legislative and budget efforts for fiscal 2008 will be to again ask for TRICARE increases in co-pays, increase in pharmacy participation costs and increase for those retired, but not yet 65 years old.”
“It is clear to me that the potential of “broken promises” looms on the horizon unless Congress acts in a bipartisan effort to stop this. If fixing TRICARE was a good enough election campaign issue eight years ago, there is no reason to forget that promise now. I cannot imagine with the force being asked “to surge” that such an issue would even be brought up with our nation engaged in a long war on terrorism.”
Even more troubling are comments made by the new chairman of the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee in an interview with the Army Times.
Rep. Vic Snyder, D-Ark., said the Defense Department “is absolutely right in reminding all of us …that health care is not free, that it is expensive. No one in America has a handle on health care costs.”
He also said the fact that Congress last year rejected the Pentagon’s proposed fee hikes for retirees’ TRICARE coverage was not a sign they would never support such an increase, but rather a sign more study is needed.
Congress was “disappointed we did not take a broader look at health care” before the proposal to increase fees was floated, he said.
The congressionally-mandated DOD Task Force on the Future of Military Health Care, tasked with examining the military health care program, structure, management and cost, held its first meeting. However, we cannot ignore the fact that the members were appointed by the Secretary of Defense!
We will be surprised if either the interim report due in May or the final report due in December 2007 doesn’t support the Defense Department’s position.
That’s where you come in! AUSA needs you! Your letters to your elected representatives do make a difference. Please go to the AUSA home page, click on “Contact Congress” then after “Elected Officials” type your Zip Code and scroll down to “Stop Erosion of Military Health Care Benefits”.
Military Trivia Answer
Thomas Custer was a U.S. Army officer and the younger brother of George Custer. Tom Custer distinguished himself by winning successively the brevets of captain, major, and lieutenant colonel, although he was barely twenty years of age when the Civil War ended. He was awarded two Medals of Honor for capturing Confederate regimental flags (at Namozine Church on April 3, 1865, and again at Sayler's Creek on April 6, 1865). He was one of only four soldiers or sailors to receive the dual honor during the Civil War, and one of just nineteen in history. During the 1876 Little Bighorn campaign of the Black Hills War, he served as aide-de-camp to Lt. Col. George A. Custer and died with his brother.
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