Military dependence on supplementals climbing

Source: Government Executive.com

Congressional Budget Office: Military dependence on supplementals climbing
By Megan Scully CongressDaily February 12, 2008

The military's reliance on war-related supplemental spending bills to buy new equipment has increased dramatically since the launch of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, becoming a major driver behind the growth of emergency spending packages, the Congressional Budget Office reported Monday.

Its analysis of funding trends, requested by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., found that procurement funding in supplemental appropriations bills rose from $10 billion in fiscal 2003 to $51 billion in fiscal 2007.

For this fiscal year, the Pentagon has requested $72 billion in emergency spending for new equipment, $26 billion of which has been appropriated. The remaining amount constitutes a large chunk of the additional $102.5 billion supplemental appropriations package Congress expects to take up in the next few months.

The sharp increase in procurement funding accounted for over half of the total growth in war-related appropriations in fiscal 2007, and will account for roughly 90 percent of the increase in war expenditures this year if Congress approves the Defense Department's request, according to CBO.

Read more: http://govexec.com/dailyfed/0108/021208cdam1.htm

It's a crying shame.

...not 'Supplementals' - I wonder where George learned to run a budget using a second set of books???

what a successful business man he was :sarcasm: It take a lot of skill to not be able to find oil in Texas :)

Jebus, you would think that after the first couple years they could figure it out and get it into the defense budget where it belongs.