Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

Congressional Add-Ons to Second FY 2009 War Supplemental (H.R. 2346/S. 1054)

by Christopher Hellman [contact information]

June 16, 2009

On June 11, House and Senate conferees approved a $105.9 billion emergency supplemental appropriations bill for the latter part of Fiscal Year (FY) 2009, which ends on September 30. The bill includes $79.9 billion for the Department of Defense, primarily to fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As part of their work on the administration’s original $75.5 billion request, members of Congress provided nearly $7 billion in “add-ons” or funds not sought by the Pentagon.

Much of this additional funding is being included as part of the supplemental because these programs are controversial and might not otherwise be funded through the normal budget process. One obvious example is the $2.17 billion included for the purchase of C-17 aircraft – a program whose termination was announced by Defense Secretary Robert Gates in April.

In some cases, these additions appear reasonable on their surface. Take, for example, the $488 million added to modernize U.S. military hospitals. The question remains, however, why this funding is being included in an “emergency” spending package, rather than through the normal annual budget process.

Program	$Millions	Service	Origin
C-17 Transport--Procure Eight Aircraft	2,170.2	Air Force	House
Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP)—All Terrain Variant	1,850.0	N/A	Both
C-130J Transport-- Procure three MC-130J and four HC-130J aircraft	504	Air Force	House
National Guard & Reserve Equipment	500	N/A	Both
Hospital construction to update older facilities (Military Construction)	488	N/A	N/A
Conversion of one Army National Guard AH-64A helicopter battalion to D model aircraft	342.7	Army	House
Bradley Fighting Vehicle Reset requirements	243.6	Army	House
Procure additional Stryker vehicles	200	Army	House
155MM Lightweight Towed Howitzer—Unfunded requirement	117	Marine Corps	Senate
UH-1Y/AH-1Z helicopters--Four additional combat loss replacement aircraft	100	Navy/Marines	House
Tactical Unmanned Aerial System—Quick Reaction Capability Fund multi-band receivers	80	Army	Both
Link 16 Support & Sustainment—Interim Gateway/Battlefield Airborne Communication Node (RDT&E)	61	Air Force	Senate
Unit Operations Center--OEF UUNS	53.2	Marine Corps	Senate
P-3 "Orion" aircraft series	50.2	Navy	Both
One additional CH-47 helicopter	30	Army	House
Manned Reconnaissance Systems --"Saber Focus" (RDT&E)	26.7	Navy	Senate
Lightweight Mine Rollers	22.5	Marine Corps	Senate
Afghan ISR infrastructure	12.8	Air Force	Senate
Amphibious Support Equipment--Unfunded Requirement	11	Marine Corps	Senate
TOTAL	6,892.90

Table Notes: This is not a complete list, but represents those items identified to date. All programs shown are procurement programs unless otherwise indicated. “$Millions” is the amount added by Congress. “Service” is the branch of the military which operates the system. “Origin” is the house of Congress which added the funding; House, Senate, or Both (i.e. both houses included unrequested funds).