ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

The Association of the U.S. Army is urging key lawmakers to authorize full funding for the Army and DoD, a pay increase of at least 5.2% for service members and civilian employees and the resources needed to continue the Army’s transformation and quality of life efforts.

In a letter to the chairmen and ranking members of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, AUSA advocates for these critical issues and calls for passage “as quickly as possible” of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.

In a new fiscal warning, the Congressional Budget Office forecasts that the $842 billion 2024 defense budget pending before Congress is likely to increase to $922 billion by 2028 because military expenses would rise by 10% over the next five years, at a rate faster than inflation.

The report, “Long-Term Implications of the 2024 Future Years Defense Program,” also says that the 2024 budget awaiting congressional action could be underestimating expenses by 3% or more, potentially creating funding gaps.

After more than a decade of operating under temporary spending bills, the Army has gotten “used to” the uncertainty, but spending is inefficient and programs are delayed and disrupted, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said.

“At one level, we’re a little bit used to this, but I think it’s important to not lose sight of the fact that every time we go into a continuing resolution, we’re essentially spending the money we have much less efficiently,” Wormuth said Nov. 14 during a defense summit hosted by Politico.

The Association of the U.S. Army has joined with 26 other military and veterans’ groups to urge Congress to pass an adequate defense budget “as soon as possible” to avoid disruptions to service members, veterans and their families and the military’s critical modernization and readiness programs.

“Our nation faces many threats, and our uniformed services operate in a very challenging environment,” the groups, known as The Military Coalition, write in a Sept. 26 letter to Senate and House leaders.

The 2024 defense policy bill taking shape in the House of Representatives allocates almost $4.4 billion toward Army weapons and combat vehicles, about $620 million more than requested by the Pentagon.

The draft 2024 defense plan prepared by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama includes several increases in Army procurement. He proposes a $230 million increase for aircraft, and a $623 million increase for weapons and tracked combat vehicles.

The Association of the U.S. Army is urging key lawmakers to approve additional funding in the fiscal 2024 budget to support the Army’s transformation programs.

“We believe it is essential for the Army and the Department of Defense (DoD) to have the resources it needs to counter growing threats and to ensure the continued excellence of the all-volunteer force,” retired Gen. Bob Brown, AUSA president and CEO, writes in a letter to the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.

The Army is “largely on track” with its transformation priorities, with some restructuring of the force required to be ready to fight and win future wars, Army leaders told the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee.

Continuing recruiting challenges make this a complicated and necessary adjustment, they said.

A 5.2% pay increase for soldiers and civilian employees, more than $5.3 billion in procurement programs and critical updates to ammunition production facilities could be at risk without a full-year budget for fiscal 2024, the Army’s top leaders warned.

Testifying April 19 before the House Armed Services Committee, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said a stopgap measure, known as a continuing resolution, would be a “significant problem” for the Army.

On top of its $185.5 billion budget request for fiscal 2024, the Army has prepared a supplemental list of $1.93 billion in unfunded priorities.

The so-called wish list of additional spending was provided to Congress under a long-standing request from lawmakers to show how additional funds might be spent.

The 2024 supplemental request is far smaller than last year’s $5.1 billion unfunded priorities list.