Quality of life program might get less money instead of more

Quality of life program might get less money instead of more
By Matt Millham, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Wednesday, December 5, 2007

The fight over war spending has claimed its first victim. A high-profile initiative to improve the quality of life for Army families has effectively been put on the back burner as a result of the budget impasse.

If the struggle continues, an Army official warned, funding for some programs that were supposed to get an increase in funding in fiscal 2008 could instead be slashed.

Rolled out to much fanfare at U.S. Army garrisons across the globe in October and November, the Army Family Covenant, as the initiative is called, is the cornerstone of the Army’s plans to bulk up programs and services for families stressed by frequent deployments.

But because virtually all funding for the covenant — $1.4 billion — is tied up in the funding bill that is at the center of a clash between Congress and the president, none of the promised funds have yet made their way to Army families or even to garrisons in Europe.

Concerned that the bill might not pass before money for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan runs out, Gen. Richard Cody, the Army’s vice chief of staff, has ordered all commands and activities to draft plans for reduced operations at Army posts.

According to Cody’s order, the effort’s intent is to reduce funding for some operations “to the minimum essential level.”


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=50739