Following Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on October 7, the US Department of Defence ordered an additional carrier strike group, air defence assets, fighter jets and hundreds of troops to the Middle East to prevent the conflict from escalating into a regional war, POLITICO reports.
But there’s one problem: the Pentagon simply doesn’t have the money to pay for the military buildup, because of divisions in Congress.
The armed forces, like the rest of the federal government, are operating under a temporary funding measure that freezes spending at the previous year’s level. Moving troops to the Middle East was not part of the pre-arranged plans, so the Pentagon had to take money from existing operations and maintenance accounts, said Defence Department spokesman Chris Sherwood. President Joe Biden signed a stopgap measure this month to keep the government open until lawmakers can agree on a full-year spending bill.
Because the Department of Defence has had to scramble to find funds that means cuts to training, exercises and deployments the military has already planned for this year. Some contract payments might be delayed, Sherwood said. He noted:
“Current events have revised some of the operational assumptions used to develop the FY 2024 President’s Budget request. Specifically, neither the base budget request nor the FY 2024 supplemental request included funding for US operations related to Israel.We’re taking it out of hide.”
He said the buildup of forces in the Middle East, which included extending the deployment of the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group operating off the coast of Israel, had forced US Central Command and the military departments to change requirements for current and future operations to reflect the evolving conflict.
The Defence Department said on Tuesday that work was still underway to publish an estimate of the total cost of US support for Israel.
Senior Pentagon officials have warned year after year about the harm temporary funding measures do to military readiness. The department cannot start any new programmes or pay for anything above the previous year’s level while operating under a temporary measure. The burden is now heavier than usual on the Department of Defence as the Pentagon supports two wars at once: in Ukraine and in Israel. Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said during a Nov. 21 event in Washington, using the abbreviation for continuing resolution:
“We’ve gotten used to getting by, CR to CR, but it’s with significant consequence. That has a cost. You can’t buy back the time. You just can’t.”
Hicks estimates that the impact of keeping the Pentagon under the interim measure would mean a $35 billion cut in defence department spending. She noted:
“We have a responsibility to build trust with Congress — to get done what we want to get done. But the truth of the matter is, trust is a two-way street, and we are really being challenged to trust that our partners in Congress can get done what they need to do for us to achieve those ends.”
Lawmakers will have to pass a full-year spending bill after the resolution expires on 2 February. However, the Pentagon and other federal agencies will face a 1% across-the-board spending cut if the bickering drags on until April.
