Articles from ARMY Magazine, Headline News, and AUSA News on Congressional Budget topics affecting the U.S. Army and the U.S. Military
The Association of the U.S. Army is urging Congress to swiftly pass the national security supplemental to support the Army while investing in America’s defense industrial base.
In today’s complex and volatile world, the Army must transform—and transform quickly, the service’s top leaders testified April 10 on Capitol Hill.
“The world is more volatile today than I have seen it in my 36-year career,” Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George said. “A spark in any region can have global impacts. Meanwhile, the character of war is changing rapidly. Our Army is as important as ever to the joint force. We must deter war everywhere and be ready to respond anywhere.”
The Army faces “devastating” effects if the $95 billion supplemental spending bill pending before Congress isn’t passed, Army Undersecretary Gabe Camarillo said.
Speaking April 3 at a breakfast hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army as part of its Coffee Series, Camarillo explained that since the Oct. 1 start of fiscal year 2024, the Army has been paying for operations including support for NATO missions and deployments that previously had been paid for with supplemental funding.
As the Army rolls out its budget request for fiscal year 2025, the service urgently still needs funding for the current fiscal year, a panel of senior Army leaders said.
More than five months into fiscal 2024, which began Oct. 1, the Army continues to operate under a continuing resolution, stopgap funding that keeps spending at the previous year’s levels and prohibits new starts. The current measure expires March 22.
The Association of the U.S. Army, joined by four other military associations, is calling on Congress to pass the fiscal year 2024 defense appropriations bill before the current stopgap funding expires March 22.
The $849.8 billion fiscal 2025 defense budget unveiled March 11 includes a 4.5% pay increase for troops and a 2% raise for civilian personnel.
The Army’s $185.9 billion share, which is a 0.2% increase from the fiscal 2024 request, “meets the Army’s commitments under the National Defense Strategy and the secretary of defense’s priorities to defend the nation, take care of our people and succeed through teamwork,” Army Undersecretary Gabe Camarillo said.
A panel of Army leaders will speak March 18 as part of the Association of the U.S. Army’s Coffee Series.
The in-person event will take place at AUSA headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. It will feature Kirsten Taylor, deputy assistant Army secretary for plans, programs and resources in the office of the assistant Army secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology; Maj. Gen. Mark Bennett, director of the Army budget; and Maj. Gen. Joseph Hilbert, director of force development in the office of the deputy Army chief of staff for resources and plans, G-8.
On-time and adequate funding for the U.S. Army remains a top advocacy effort for the Association of the U.S. Army.
As part of AUSA’s 2024 Focus Areas, the association aims to support soldiers from the Regular Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserve, Department of the Army civilians, families, veterans and retirees.
The Association of the U.S. Army, joined by five other military associations, is urging Congress to approve a timely and adequate defense budget to enable the Army and joint force to respond to growing threats and demands at home and around the world.
Any further budget delays, including the possibility of a full-year stopgap funding measure, will have “significant consequences” for the Army and its efforts to recruit, modernize and support missions around the world, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth warns.
