The White House on Thursday asked Congress to provide $58.6 billion in Fiscal 2015 to fund the Defense Department’s activities in Afghanistan and other overseas contingency operations. The funding request is $20.9 billion less than the $79.4 billion placeholder figure that the Pentagon provided to Congress earlier this year. This request “primarily funds” US military operations in Afghanistan, states the White House’s fact sheet. “Although the Fiscal 2015 OCO request reflects a transition as the United States concludes combat operations in Afghanistan, most costs will not decline precipitously. For example, DOD will still incur significant costs to transport personnel, supplies, and equipment back to their home stations,” reads the document. The OCO funding would also cover the costs of the Obama Administration’s new Counterterrorism Partnerships Fund, including a new Syria-Regional Stabilization Initiative, and the European Reassurance Initiative. The White House requested $4 billion and $925 million, respectively, for DOD’s work in those two areas. (See also DOD release.)?
Top Lawmakers Want 15 Percent Pay Raise for Enlisted Troops
April 19, 2024
A new law introduced by Congress would raise the pay rate 15 percent for junior enlisted troops and seek improvements on a range of quality of life issues, such as pay and compensation, child care, housing, health care access, and military spouse employment.