Allocates Money For Expanding Army, USMC

While general aviation 'letter groups' attacked the fiscal year 2009 budget plan presented by the Bush administration Monday, officials with the Pentagon appeared more-or-less content with the proposal... but noted they need Congress to immediately free-up more money for current conflicts.

The Washington Post reports the budget request allocates $515.4 billion for the Pentagon in FY09. That's a 7.5 percent increase over last year's spending request, with the additional money targeted towards expanding the US Army and Marine Corps, improving readiness, and giving servicemembers a better quality of life -- including a 3.4 percent pay raise.

"The budget request provides the resources needed to prevail in current conflicts, while preparing the department for a range of challenges the nation may face in the years ahead," said Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.

The White House also requested an additional $70 billion in short-term funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That's less than the administration's 2008 request for $190 billion for war funding, of which Congress has parsed out $87 billion to the Pentagon so far.

Defense officials made it clear Monday they need more money to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan -- both from Congress and the White House -- saying at current funding levels the Pentagon might be unable to pay soldiers fighting overseas by June, with likely operational issues soon to follow.

"Our ability to continue this level of effort there" would be undermined, and "we'll have to stop operations about that time," said Vice Adm. P. Stephen Stanley, director for force structure, resources and assessment on the Joint Staff, according to the Post.

Notably, President Bush's funding request would also grant the Pentagon just enough money to conduct operations in those two countries through the end of his administration... leaving his successor to make a decision on later funding, just days into their first term. Analysts noted the significance of Bush's military budget request -- which amounts to a nearly $36 billion increase over last year.

Steven Kosiak, a budget expert at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, called Bush's request "a 'stay-the-course' budget. The administration projects a plan showing the base budget declining, and there's good reason to believe that there will be a lot of pressure to restrain spending. It will be left to the next administration how to sort this out.

"If they're going to abide by it, they will have to start scaling back plans or will have to add more money," he added

Brookings Institution military analyst Michael O'Hanlon noted the 2009 budget represents few -- if any -- sacrifices for the military, and that he expects the Pentagon to spend even more money on weapons procurement... hamstringing the next President's ability to cut back funding.

"You give the services what they're requesting, and you see the budget go up like this," O'Hanlon said. "It makes it very hard to figure out how to cut. If a new president wants to make a meaningful dent in the budget, how can they?"

FMI: www.whitehouse.gov, www.pentagon.mil