Washington, DC – Today, House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith made the following statement about the House Appropriations Committee’s decision to fund FY2017 base requirements by shortchanging Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO), so that overseas operations will require a supplemental in April 2017:

“Intentionally stunting next year’s overseas operations funding as the majority proposes in the Defense Appropriations bill is a very risky proposition, as it was when President George W. Bush requested a budget that forced a supplemental budget request in 2008. However, as I have said before, underfunding OCO now creates a far larger problem due to the political environment, where budget caps are set to return and Congress routinely fails to reach agreement. It is deeply problematic to rely on a scheme that puts our military readiness in just that kind of dangerous position.”

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