Vote coming Thursday on 2011 budget agreement - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Vote coming Thursday on 2011 budget agreement

A vote is scheduled Thursday in the House and Senate on a 2011 budget agreement that shaves more than $38 billion in federal spending, including an $18 billion reduction in the Obama administration’s defense request for the current year.

The agreement was reached Friday after tense negotiations, just as final arrangements were being made for a midnight shutdown of the government. Details of the agreement were not released until 2 a.m. Tuesday, after congressional aides finished writing legislative text for the omnibus government funding bill, HR 1483, that is expected to pass by midnight Thursday.

If lawmakers complete work on the bill, Congress is scheduled for a two-week break before returning back to work on the 2012 budget.

Under the 2011 agreement, the Defense Department receives $670.8 billion, including $513 billion in the base budget and $157.8 billion for overseas contingencies.

The base budget is $18.1 billion less than requested by the administration, while the contingency budget matches the administration request, according to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Although the overall amount is cut, negotiators agreed to add $670 million for personnel-related expenses. This is enough to fully fund last January’s 1.4 percent all-ranks pay increase, and other unexpected costs that the services had warned were not covered by the administration’s 2011 request.

Lawmakers cut $9 billion from operations and maintenance budgets, turning down requests for additional civilian personnel that were not justified and cutting money from accounts that had surpluses. There is another $2.2 billion reduction for revised economic assumptions that includes the Pentagon’s savings from a federal civilian pay freeze.

Weapons programs were not immune from cuts. The agreement provides no additional money for an alternate engine for the Joint Strike Fighter, which could be the final chapter of a hard-fought battle, and there is an additional $2.2 billion cut in production funding for the fighter because it is behind schedule.

Other hardware cuts: $672 million for the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, the result of a revision in requirements; $473 million from pricing adjustments in the Army manned ground vehicle program; $457 million from the termination of the Non-Line of Sight Cannon; and $272 million resulting from the one-year delay in awarding a new Theater High Altitude Area Defense program. The bill also slices $500 million from the Iraq Security Forces Fund.

The agreement removes $2 billion in funding from more than 50 other weapons programs that have been terminated, delayed or have not spent all of their allotted money.

The compromise includes $16.6 billion for military construction and family housing, a $6.6 billion drop from 2010. The Senate Appropriations Committee says the reduction largely results from completion of construction related to the 2005 round of base closings and realignments.

The agreement contains $1.8 billion for family housing construction and operating expenses, a $436 million reduction from 2010 that comes as the services are nearly completed with a long-term housing privatization initiative. Additionally, there is $10.5 billion for construction on active and reserve bases, $2.3 billion in projects related to base closings, $259 million for the U.S. share of NATO construction and $120 million for energy conservation initiatives.

The construction projects are partly funded by $1 billion from previous construction projects that ended up costing less than expected, which includes $232 million in base closing and realignment projects.

Veterans programs receive $120.7 billion, $11.1 billion more than in 2010. For veterans health care, the agreement provides $48.1 billion, a $3.6 billion increase, and there is an additional $50.6 billion included in advance medical appropriations for 2012.